The turtle and the Goddess
by Who am I. Well. I'm just Me
Summary: A/N: This is a TMNT/Monster High crossover but takes place in the TMNT CG/07 world
1. Chapter 1

_On air in 3… 2… 1…_

Hey guys and ghouls! You're on _"Cupid: Goddess of Love" Tell me, what matters to your heart?_; bringing you this Valentine's Day special program.

You all know what love is, right?

If you do, then you probably know about love's special day: Valentine's Day!

And if you know what Valentine's Day is, then you have probably heard about my father_ (well… adoptive father)_: Eros; I bet you are aware of his job.

Though, I know most of you know him as "Cupid".

Well, here is where the confusion and my personal dilemma begins.

First of all, my dad's name is **Eros**. The normies gave him the name "Cupid"… MY NAME!

Well, part of it…

I'm C. A. Cupid _(I use my initials because my name is scary long, hideously unpronounceable… and you're just going to call me "Cupid" anyway)_ I'm Eros' adoptive daughter and goddess of love.

Ok, ok… a goddess in training; I'm as old as teenager love is… so don't go asking my age.

I followed my dad's steps in the "love business" but instead of him I work exclusively with teenagers but not just any kind of teenagers which explains why my favorite activity is to answer monster relationships questions.

Yes, you heard that right… monster relationships!

Didn't you know?

Oh well, duh! How would you know about that? Dad's the one who works with normies or humans as you call yourselves.

I'm more famous between monsters and it really makes my heart burn with fury when monsters act so surprised I'm not a guy.

HELLO! I'm not my dad, ok?

That brings out the second of all: I only work with monsters; normies _(humans, mortals, etc)_ are my daddy's.

Now that we've cleared that out, let me tell share with you a fang-tastic story about the time me, _Cupid_, spent a week among normies.

It was February 1st and _(I know it sounds exaggerated)_ I was getting everything ready for Valentine's Day.

February 14th means only one thing for a goddess in training: lots of work.

…

_February 1__st_

"_Love letter, love letter, love letter… magazine… love letter, love letter, love letter…" _

_Cupid yawned lazily as she organized her mail. Being the hostess of a very successful radio show sure was tiring, especially with all the teen monsters and their love problems… and her dad said normies were hard to deal with._

"_Love letter, love letter… bills, bills, love letter…" Cupid sighed "Seems like this year is also gonna be a tough one"_

_A bloody red envelope fell out through all the mail and landed on her feet. _

"_What's this?" The pale pink skinned girl opened the envelope very carefully and read its content._

_A gargoyle girl came inside the studio with a bunch of papers. "Cupid, the show starts in…"_

"_TAAAANIIIIIS!" The high pitched scream almost broke the studio's glasses, two I-Coffins and a coffee mug. _

"_Cupid, what's wrong?" Tanis asked in worry. _

"_Oh my Zeus, OH MY ZEUS!" Cupid jumped around the place holding the letter close to her heart._

"_What is it, ghoul?" Cupid handed the gargoyle girl the letter while she continued jumping around._

"_Dad says he'll let me go to Earth for Valentine's Day if I pass my last test!" Cupid said cheerfully "Finally new love stories, new teenager hearts that need my help… I'll finally get to help normies and monsters!"_

"_That… sounds great. Except for one thing"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Tell me you did read what your test is about"_

"_Uhmmm no?"_

…

I couldn't believe my eyes. Dad had assigned me the spookiest-freaky-scary-_so not cool_-dreadful case ever!

I've had heard about the "anti-valentiners"; normies that celebrate "Anti-Valentine's Day" as a way to show how much they are against it and how much they hate it. I found this information terribly outrageous!

I mean, who in the world could hate Valentine's Day?

Who in the world could hate love?

Who in the world could not believe in love?

It was then when I met _her_. But before meeting _her_, I met… _him_.

He was a different kind of monster; a monster I had never seen before in my whole life, a very special client.

And since the moment I met him, something in my heart told me both our lives would change drastically.

* * *

><p>New fic is new~ :3<p>

Hi, this is Whoey here bringing you this new story to put us in the mood… V-day's mood. There are some things I'd like to clarify:

-This is my first crossover; honestly I never expected to write one before but… there's always a first time for everything!

-Though I like Monster High, I'm not a hardcore fan of the whole franchise but I know the basics and I investigated the characters and their bios before I dared to write this.

-C. A. Cupid is the most recent Monster High doll and there's not much info about her but the fact that she is mentioned as Eros' adoptive daughter (In the Tale of Eros and Pysche, they _do _have a daughter of their own called _Voluptas _or_ Hedone_)

…

Now about the story:

-Tanis is an OC secondary character; don't bother looking info of her in the Monster High website. Jackson Jekyll, Manny Taur and Cupid on the other hand, do exist and belong to Monster High… not me.

-Again, this will be a TMNT/Monster High crossover (my first one); I don't expect you to go easy on me but flamers will be used to burn Nickelodeon. :3 You have been warned.

-To those who have been reading "Race against death", thank you so much. You guys are amazing; really… I wouldn't be anything without your support and comments. Huggles, huggles! _*smooch*_

And finally, if you read _"Who's back"_ then you must know this fic will take place after those events so… you know what that means, right?

Stay tune for more chapters! G'BYE!


	2. Chapter 2

The smell of waffles filled the kitchen altogether with the song the orange-clad ninja hummed while he set the table ready for the others to come for breakfast. The first one joining in the table was his red-clad brother who had his eyes still closed.

"Morning Raphie-boy" Mikey greeted. Raph muttered something like _'mrnin'_ and sat heavily in the chair. He rubbed his eyes and eyed quizzically at the plate in front of him.

"Wazzup with the heart shaped sandwiches?"

"You know what incredible holiday is coming?" Mikey grinned widely.

"Uh…" Raph looked at him in confusion.

"C'mon Raphie~ you know the answer! It's one of my favorite holidays ever!"

"Fool's Day?" Raph said wryly.

"Haha, very funny" Mikey narrowed eyes.

Raph shrugged. "I give, then"

"VALENTINE'S DAY!" Mikey yelled in excitement making Raph cover his ears.

"Would ya keep it down, shell-fer-brains? Besides, that's in a week!"

"I know, but the whole city has that vibe around… you know, hearts and chocolates, classic romantic movies…" Mikey said dreamily.

"Stupid songs and stupid people wasting their money in that stupid someone that will leave them one or two months later?" A feminine voice added. Mikey's smile fell as he crossed arms feeling offended.

Raph chuckled at his little brother's reaction. "Way to kill the mood, Who!"

"Thanks" Who smiled as they both fist pounded. She walked towards Mikey in order to greet him but he turned around showing her his back.

"I'm not gonna say good morning to you till you apologize to Valentine's Day"

"Uhmm, no thanks?" Who chuckled and sat in her chair waving at Leo as he walked inside the kitchen.

"Leo! Who insulted my favorite holiday!"

"Which one of them?" Leo chuckled.

"The most incredible of all: Valentine's Day!"

"Aww, c'mon Mikey! Don't be a cry baby" Don said, joining the others in the table.

"Don't tell me you're on her side too, Don"

"No but you shouldn't make a big deal of it"

"Yeah, in case you haven't noticed, not everyone gets excited about Valentine's Day" Who said after drinking her orange juice.

Mikey snorted. "You sound like if you were one of those cold hearted freaks that are against it"

"Well, then I guess I am a _cold hearted freak _too" Who said pointing at her white tank top's stamp where a cartoonish version of the Grim Reaper shot an also cartoonish Cupid with his own arrows.

"NOOOO! THEY HAVE INFECTED HER!"

"Is he always a drama queen in the mornings or am I just lucky today?" Who sighed.

"I think I'll say… both?" Don chuckled.

"QUICK! Somebody get me tons of chick flicks, roses, chocolates… maybe some wine and a HUGE Valentine's Day banner. WE HAVE TO SAVE HER!" Mikey listed pacing around the kitchen "Oh! And a boyfriend!"

"Enough Mikey! Better watch the stove" Leo ordered.

"AHHH! MY BACON STRIPS!" The others laughed out loud at Mikey's attempts to save the rest of the breakfast.

Who left the table and walked away. "Well, I'm gonna be in my room if someone needs me"

"Are you joining us in the dojo later?" Leo asked.

"Don't think so, but thanks for the offer. Besides, I still have some things to organize"

"Again?" Don asked.

"If you are going to classify all the music sheets I have in my room for me, then be my guest Don" Who said curtly and disappeared.

"It's just me or she's crankier than usual?" Don commented with the others.

"It's the typical anti-valentiner attitude! Duh!" Mikey rolled eyes.

"One more word, Mikey… just _one _more… and I'll swear I'll make you hate Valentine's Day!" Raph growled.

…

* * *

><p>"This can't be happening to me" Cupid sighed rubbing her temples. The gargoyle girl brought her a cup of coffee and sat in the wooden desk.<p>

"Well,_ you_ were the one bugging your dad since… uh… how old are you?"

"Tanis, this is serious!" Cupid snarled, her pale pink face reddening.

"Oh c'mon! Like you haven't dealt with anti-valentiners before"

"I know but this is a different situation!" Cupid replied.

"Different… as in?" Tanis raised an eye ridge.

"I won't be dealing with a monster! It's the first time I'm going to deal with a normie and not just any kind of normie"

"Cupid, you're exaggerating" Tanis sighed "Have you ever seen Jackson Jekyll? He is…"

"Half normie; that doesn't count" Cupid interrupted her.

"But…"

"Tanis, my dad said if I wanted to be promoted…" Cupid started "…I had to find a hardcore, _normie,_ anti-valentiner; make him/her change his/her point of view before February 14th and I have no clue where to start searching"

The pink haired ghoul paced around the room like a caged lion, her dark hands playing with her black frills on her dress.

Tanis sighed heavily. "Well… I don't know if it's a good idea but…"

"What?"

"You know your radio show is creepeficly successful, right?"

"Yeah?" Cupid arched a brow.

"We could expand it a little bit, you know? Make the normies listen to it… and maybe that way you could find the normie you're looking for" Tanis suggested and found herself crushed in a tight hug from the pink skinned ghoul.

"Tanis… I don't know what I'd do without you"

Tanis chuckled and broke the hug. "Probably shoot your arrows like a maniac and create a Valentine's Day catastrophe like last year"

"It was an accident! And how would I know Manny Taur was scared of spider ghouls?" Cupid huffed stomping her arrow-shaped heel in the wooden floor. Tanis just chuckled and shook her head as she left the place.

…

* * *

><p><em><strong>New York<strong>_

_**7:30 pm**_

_**...**_

_**...**_

"Who"

The soft knocking at her door woke the dark haired girl up. She yawned and stirred lazily on the bed. The knocking became insistent and louder.

"Who? You there?" It was Leo calling. Reluctantly, Who left the bed and zombie-walked towards to door.

"Hey, sorry didn't reply sooner" Who smiled sleepily.

"I should be the one apologizing; I think I interrupted your sleep" Leo said.

"Sort of; just finished a lot of paper work and was dead tired so… I guess my body just gave up. I don't remember falling sleep, actually"

"You just sounded like Donnie" Leo laughed.

"Anyway, need something?" Who asked.

"Yeah, the guys are going to meet April and Casey at the cinema and I thought you might wanna come with us"

"Nah, my doctor said I can start training again and I have to catch up for all those months of doing nothing"

"Uh… ok. If you want, I could stay and help you" Leo offered.

Who shook her head. "No thanks, I think I'll be ok on my own. Now go and have fun"

"Sure" Leo shrugged.

"Dude, you can count me out too" Mikey's head peeked from outside his room.

"How so?"

"I have to organize my comic book collection and that will take time" Mikey said before going back to his task.

"I hope you can deal with Mikey, Who-chan" Leo said while walking downstairs.

"Hey, if I could survive all those years with my mom and lil sister; then I think I can handle him just nicely" Who winked.

"Just in case, you know where the first aid kit is" Leo waved goodbye before leaving the lair with the others.

"Tsk, first aid kit… right" Who rolled eyes and made her way to the kitchen. Little did she know that Leo's warning was not in vain; an evil mastermind worked on his plan, smiling diabolically while petting an orange tabby.

"Nobody messes with holidays and gets away with it"

His evil laugh was followed by a long meow and purr coming from the amused cat lying on his chest.

"That's right, my precious kitty. She will pay"


	3. Chapter 3

"C'mon guys. Tonight it'll be just the three of us" Leo said.

The three ninjas secured the garage's door and made their way to the spot they were supposed to meet their human friends. They decided to not use their vehicles to not get unwanted attention, especially from their enemies; this was one of the rarest times they got to hang out with their friends like normal teenagers and they planned to enjoy it to the fullest.

"I thought the lil witch was coming"

"Don't call her like that, Raph" Leo replied "She was going to train now she is allowed to do it again"

"Well, the surgery wasn't so invasive and the scaring process in her case is twice faster considering her genetics. I have to say I'm quite impressed with her progress" Don commented.

"You think that scar will disappear like… completely?" Leo asked.

"With time? Yes. Though she doesn't seem to care about it" Don said.

"Who's not a normal girl if you haven't noticed, genius" Raph chuckled.

Don sighed. "Raph…"

"Hey, I'm not insulting her! I was just saying she ain't the kind of girl that freaks out if she sees a scar… and her scar is _way_ big"

"3 centimeters, Raph. And it's barely visible now" Don discussed.

"Guys, can we please stop talking about that?" Leo interfered.

"What's the matter? Got rejected by the girl and you still defending her?" Raph punched Leo's arm teasingly.

"First of all, I didn't_ 'get rejected'_; she just didn't want to come. And I'm not defending her; it's just a little annoying to hear about that all over again. We all know she's ok, right? Well, that's fine! End of discussion"

Everyone went silent; not even Raph dared to articulate another word about that topic or any other topic for what mattered. Leo's face remained serious the rest of the way to the cinema until a dark faired human saw them approaching and waved at them.

"Hey, there's Casey!" Raph waved back and ran to meet him.

"You ok, Leo?" Don asked.

"I'm fine, Donnie. Don't worry"

"That request is pretty hypocritical coming from you, don't you think?" Don chuckled.

Leo sighed heavily. "I just don't want to remember what happened last year"

"Who should be the one trying to forget that, not you" Don pointed out.

"I know; she's trying very hard and I've seen some progress during the past two months but now… it seems like her old self wants to get back"

"Yes, I've noticed that too" Don agreed "You think there's a specific reason?"

Leo shook his head. "Don't know but I'm going to find out"

"Hey, why didn't Mikey come?"

"He had to organize his comic books" Leo said "Ironic, huh? He can do that every 10 seconds but he can't clean up his room without throwing a tantrum first"

Don smiled. "That's Mikey for you"

…

* * *

><p>"Cupid, once you find your normie what are you gonna do about the show? I mean, normies can't know about your existence remember?" Tanis asked.<p>

"Uhhhh uhhh"

"Exactly, Ghoulia. This special studio was created in order make other normies forget everything once I find the one I need" Cupid explained "We can all thank Ghoulia and hypnosis for that"

"Uhhhh hhuhhh uhhhhh" Ghoulia moaned.

"10 minutes? Oh my gore! I'm so nervous!"

"Nervous, you?" Tanis chuckled "Cupid, c'mon don't be a scaredy cat"

"You ready Jackson?" Cupid asked.

"Uhmm, I guess?"

"Don't worry, you won't be here anyways" Tanis smiled.

"Huh?" Jackson looked at her quizzically.

"Hit it!" Cupid ordered.

Ghoulia turned on a stereo and a very catchy song came from it making the dark brown haired teen fall on his knees. His skin turned blue and his hair flame red; his clothes changed as well as the color of his eyes. Jackson Jekyll was now: Holt Hyde.

"Yo, somebody say ROCK THIS PAAAR-TAAY!"

"Gee, I can't believe someone like Jackson has someone like you inside him" Tanis rolled eyes.

"Ghoul, never EVER compare me with that dork. I mean, just look at me! My style is on FIIII-RE! AWWWW YEEEAH!"

"Guys, enough" Cupid interfered "Holt, I need all your musical knowledge for tonight. This is a very special program"

"Babe, believe me… you won't be disappointed" Hyde smiled smugly.

"Ok, guys and ghouls…"Cupid clapped "Get ready for the show of your lives"

…

* * *

><p>Mikey peeked inside the dojo; Who had just finished with her exercises and sat tiredly on the dojo mats. His brothers would be back in a few minutes and he had to act quickly. The orange masked ninja walked inside with a couple of cans soda and approached to the dark haired girl.<p>

"Hey Whoey"

"Sup Mike"

"Wanna play a game?" Mikey asked while sitting beside Who.

"You sounded like Jigsaw" the girl chuckled.

"And you watch too much movies" Mikey said in a singsong voice.

Who tsked. "Look who's talking"

"So, wanna play or not?" Mikey insisted.

"Pass"

"Aww, you never wanna play with me" Mikey pouted.

"Mikey, the _'puppy eyes'_ thingy… only works on your bros" Who said narrowing eyes.

"Man, you're even grumpier than Raphie-boy" Mikey folded arms.

"He better never hear that or else you're dead meat" Who laughed; she didn't notice the evil smile plastered on Mikey's face though.

"After all that training I bet you're thirsty"

"A little" Who shrugged.

"Here! Just like you like it, freezing cold" Mikey handed her a can of soda but Who gave it back to him.

"Actually, I can't drink it this way now. I'm a soprano, remember? Have to take care of my voice more than ever"

"Aww, c'mon. We have Donnie here; I bet he can help you with your voice if something happens" Mikey placed the soda in her hands _"C'mon! Just drink it already!"_

Who smiled "Well, thanks"

"_That's it… open it. Do it now!"_

"Hey Mikey, I'm sorry for what I said this morning"

"Huh?" Mikey's evil thoughts were interrupted by the girl's voice.

"You know, the V-day thing" Who reminded him.

"Oh… it's ok. I guess I overreacted" Mikey smiled goofily.

"No, really" Who continued "I feel bad I said all those mean things knowing you like that day so much. I'm sorry; I-I don't know what I was thinking"

"It's ok, dudette. No biggie"

"I mean, you're nice with me… you're like the little brother I always wanted and… and… I just treated you like…" Who's expression changed from serious to depressed. This worried Mikey.

"Hey, it's alright" Mikey patted the girl's back. He almost freaked out when he noticed Who's eyes were glassy "_Geez, good job Mikey. Making a girl cry and feel guilty"_

"You forgive me, right?" Who looked up at him with those dark eyes full of tears.

"Of course!" Mikey hugged her "Like I said, no biggie"

"Thanks…" Who smiled sadly returning the embrace

"_Whew, catastrophe aborted!" _Mikey thought.

"Well, I guess this calls for a toast!" Who said cheerfully grabbing her can of soda.

"Uh… I thought you didn't like drinking it cold" Mikey smiled nervously "You know; heh… your voice?"

"I'm making an exception just for you" Who answered.

"Y-yeah… cool!" Mikey continued smiling but regretting what would happen next if he didn't stop her _"Aw shell! I can't let her do it!"_

"Cheers!"

Mikey's eyes went wildly from the can, to Who's hand as it came closer to the tab. Everything started to move in slow motion… would he stick to the plan or change his mind?

Meanwhile, not so far away from the dojo… the doors of the lair opened. Leo, Raph and Don still discussed some things about the movie as they got rid of their disguises.

"We're home!" Leo shouted.

The three ninjas almost jumped out of their shells at the sound of a high pitched, girly scream coming from the dojo. They ran with their weapons ready for anything but lowered their guards at the sight of a not amused Mikey with soda spilled all over the floor and some on his face and a laughing Who holding her sides and rolling on the dojo mats.

"Oh my… I can't believe you fell for that one!" Who laughed hard. Mikey gave her a glare.

"You should have seen your face!" she managed to say between laughs.

"Totally NOT cool!" Mikey yelled.

"What… can't take a taste of your own medicine once in a while?" the dark haired girl giggled.

Mikey looked at her dumbfounded. "Wait… you knew?"

"C'mon! It was so obvious; you really thought I was going to fall for that old trick?"

"So, all the _'sad Who' _scene… was all a lie?"

"Maybe" Who said as she stood up.

"I can't believe you tricked me like that! You really don't feel sorry about what you said?" Mikey asked accusatorially.

"I _was_ going to give you a proper apology. But no! You had to _'take revenge'_ like you always do when you can't get what you want!" Who stabbed her finger into Mikey's chest "Well I have news for you… that doesn't work with me, cry baby"

Irritated and angry, the dark haired girl grabbed her sword and left the dojo not even caring about the three turtles listening to the whole thing outside; she walked upstairs and slammed the door shut. Mikey was still on the floor staring at the door feeling half guilty, half embarrassed; his brothers had seen everything but worst of all… Who was more ticked off than earlier that morning.

Leo approached at the orange clad ninja with a serious look on his face and his arms folded.

"Now what did you do?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Well, may I say, Michelangelo Hamato; that was the stupidest thing you've ever done"

Mikey stared at the floor while Leo lectured him. The orange-clad ninja had to tell his eldest brother about the prank with the can of soda but refused to give away the reasons that motivated him to do it.

"Well? I'm waiting. I need an explanation" Leo said impatiently.

"She was being mean; I had to give her a lesson!" Mikey finally said.

"She's not Raph so you can play _'payback time'_ with her!" Leo replied.

"Exactly… HEY!" Raph protested.

"And I hope you have an apology ready because…"

"Forget it!" Mikey yelled making the other three ninjas to stare at him in surprise. "You can give me extra chores, make me train extra hours, take my videogames or forbid me to go outside… I don't care! She wants war? She'll get war!"

After this, Mikey left the dojo and ran upstairs to lock himself in his room.

"You know, I think he was talking seriously" Don said, still a little shocked.

"Yeah… he didn't even care about his videogames" Raph added.

Leo sighed. "I'm going to talk to Who; perhaps I'll have better luck with her"

…

* * *

><p>The first 20 knocks and calls at her door weren't so bad but the 20 next ones were getting on Who's nerves; Fearless just wouldn't give it a break.<p>

"Go away!" Who yelled covering her head with more pillows.

"I'm not leaving till you open this door" Leo said for the bazillion time. Who sighed and walked towards to door opening it slightly.

"There, I opened it. Now bye"

Just when she was about to lock herself inside once again, Leo used his foot to prevent the door from closing and pushed it open with his body. The dark haired girl couldn't do anything at this rate; Leo was practically inside the room now.

"What do you want? I'm busy!" Who said angrily pointing at the tons of papers in her desk, floor and bed.

"I just want to talk"

"If this is because of what happened down there, I didn't want to get mad at Mikey… in fact, I really wanted to tell him how sorry I was but he had to ruin it with his lame attempt of pranking me" Who said, slumping in her bed and burying his face on the nearest pillow.

"_Keep it together, Leo… deep breaths" _The sword wielder removed the pillow from Who's face. "That's not the only thing bothering you, is it?"

Who arched a brow. "Are you a wizard now?"

"If that's so… then what are you?"

"Don't give me that smug smile, blue boy" The girl said while throwing a pillow at Leo's face.

"Now you're going to tell me why you're back to your old grumpy self?" Leo chuckled. Who's expression was serious and gloomy.

"This month bothers me…" she started "…the whole V-day thing is a waste of time and money; people idolize it even more than Christmas sometimes and as far as I know: Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species"

"Wow, dark and deep. No wonder it came from you" Leo mumbled.

_I've tried so hard my dear to show_  
><em>That you're my every dream <em>  
><em>Yet you're afraid each thing I do<em>  
><em>Is just some evil scheme <em>

_A memory from your lonesome past _  
><em>Keeps us so far apart<em>  
><em>Why can't I free your doubtful mind<em>  
><em>And melt your cold cold heart <em>

"Just look around you on Valentine's Day: every retailer is cashing in on the Valentine's Day circus" Who stood up and started pacing "Kitschy love cards, gigantic teddy bears and stereotyped heart-shaped balloons fill the air… it's useless! Same thing applies for _'falling in love'_ or as I call it: _'being naïve with an extra dose of stupid'_…"

Leo flinched. "Ouch, that was kinda harsh"

_Another love before my time _  
><em>Made your heart sad an' blue <em>  
><em>And so my heart is paying now<em>  
><em>For things I didn't do <em>

_In anger unkind words are said_  
><em>That make the teardrops start <em>  
><em>Why can't I free your doubtful mind<em>  
><em>And melt your cold cold heart<em>

"Relationships are a waste of time, money and youth. Most of men think a women's heart is a toy and most of women and men end up doing stupid things when they're heartbroken. It's a cruel reality but reality nonetheless" Who folded arms and leaned against her desk.

"I seriously disagree with you, I hope you know" the blue-clad ninja said, any trace of a smile totally gone by now.

"Nobody is forced to listen to me and do as I say, Leo. I'm only expressing how I feel" Who shrugged.

"It just doesn't make sense for someone so young to talk like that about relationships and love in general. Especially if you haven't had a boyfriend" Leo argued.

"But I've seen just enough and yes I've been hurt in the past… by my own family… You know that perfectly!" Who argued back and opened the door "That's why I'm never letting anyone to finish what my family started… not when I'm finally starting to heal"

_There was a time when I believed_

_That you belonged to me _  
><em>But now I know your heart is shackled<em>  
><em>To a memory <em>

_The more I learn to care for you _  
><em>The more we drift apart <em>  
><em>Why can't I free your doubtful mind <em>  
><em>And melt your cold cold heart<em>

The dark haired girl abandoned the room leaving a shocked and speechless Leo alone with his thoughts; this sure was a side of Who he didn't expected it existed.

…

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Coffin Bean-Cafeteria <strong>_

_**8:45 am**_

"Finally! I've been looking for you all over the maul!" Draculaura exclaimed; her multiple shopping bags being tossed carelessly in the floor.

"Calm down, mate! Here, have a drink" Lagoona chuckled and gave her some carrot juice.

"Did you check out Spectra's article for the Teen Scream magazine? It's fang-tastic!" Draculaura said excitedly.

"I can tell; Cupid, you're voltageous!"

Cupid smiled sadly. "Thanks Frankie but after 4 days on air, I still can't find the normie I need; I'm running out of time!"

"I do not understand why the hurry"

"Abby, it's February 8th! Valentine's Day it's in a week!" Tanis said.

"Uhhhh huuuhhh?"

"No, I can't ask my dad for help; I'm supposed to deal with this by myself"

"In situations like this, I would send my 10 thousand servants in a normie haunt" Cleo said sassily "But, anyway, it's not like everyone has servants ready to…"

Cupid sighed heavily and stood up. "Tonight will be the last program… if nothing happens by then; I guess I'll have to wait the next two centuries for another chance"

The pink haired girl abandoned the place with Tanis while the others gave deadly glares to the mummy girl.

"What? Did I say something?"

* * *

><p>...<p>

**Old A/N:** The cafeteria scene was all written applying "Monster High slang"

The comments about V-Day are not meant to offend anyone; you have your beliefs, I have mine.

Thank you.

**New A/N: **I **had **to add that song ; it's just so perfect!


	5. Chapter 5

"I just can't believe she thinks that way" Leo sighed. The whole day, he tried to talk to his dark haired friend but her room's door remained closed. Now his genius brother lent his understanding ear while he worked on the security system's upgrades.

"Well, she does have a point on something: Valentine's Day like many other holidays has lost its meaning nowadays" Don said.

Leo narrowed eyes. "Which side are you on?"

"I'm trying to be neutral" Don shrugged.

A feminine voice coming from a small stereo caught Leo's attention. "_Dear, you can't just send her a text telling her you're sorry. You have to tell in personally!"_

"What are you listen to?"

"Just checking out why people think this is the _best radio show ever_. The hostess is a teen girl that calls herself 'Cupid'. Lame, huh?" Don chuckled.

"No kidding"

"_And now the 'Love Mail' of the day: __Kathy__ says: '__I seem to fall in love rather quickly. I get attracted to someone and all goes well for six months or so. Then the weird behavior starts, the pulling away, the acting ambivalent. I'm beginning to wonder if all men are jerks, or if maybe I have something to do with it. Help me!'… Well, __I have two things to say to you: No! And then, Yes!__First of all, how could all men be jerks? Do you really think that the world was created so dismally that one entire gender could fall into such a category?__"_

"Hmmm, seems like Who is not the only one who thinks like that" Leo said mentally.

"_Kathy, here's the good news: You had the intelligence to recognize that this is a pattern in your life and that is the first step to doing something about it.__As you learn to make yourself happy and fulfilled in your own life, others won't feel the burden of doing it for you. That way, you can be happy and fulfilled together, without pressure, without ownership, and without unreasonable demands for attention"_

"I guess the press was right after all; sounds like that girl sure knows what she's saying" Leo admitted.

"You know what makes this show interesting and weird at the same time?"

"What?"

"Every time someone calls her, the next day they say their problems were solved right after calling that girl Cupid. It's like… that girl's show… don't know, has something special or at least that's what people say" Don commented "I say is pure coincidence"

For a moment, the sound of Don's fast typing and some random song coming from the stereo were the only things that could be heard. Don was too focused on his work that didn't notice Leo's thoughtful expression.

"Just a phone call, huh?"

Don froze. "What?"

"Nothing" Leo said innocently.

"Oh c'mon, don't tell me you believe in that" the genius said turning his attention to Leo.

"I don't"

Don arched a brow. "You sure?"

"Don, I think Klunk is scratching your chair again" Leo said as he pointed at the orange tabby.

"KLUNK!"

Taking advantage of Don's distraction, Leo left the lab.

…

* * *

><p>"Gnehehe, we'll see who laughs last" Mikey giggled while he picked Who's clothes and put them in the washing machine.<p>

"What are you doing?" a gruff voice came from behind the orange-clad ninja.

"Oh, just doing laundry" Mikey said with an innocent smile "Donnie was busy and Leo's not here so…"

"And since when you became so collaborative?" Raph chuckled.

"New word for you Raphie? Someone's been reading~" Mikey mocked him.

Raph narrowed eyes. "Shut up and gimme my mask"

Mikey's face went pale. "W-What mask?"

"The one you were gonna wash with Who's white shirts" Raph said while crossing his arms.

Mikey's face of disappointment was clearly noticeable and spoke for himself. Raph sighed heavily and snatched the red mask from Mikey's hands.

"C'mon Mikey. I know you're angry but this is going way too far. It's the seventh prank you try to pull on Who; that's just stupid!"

"First of all, it's the ninth and I would have stopped already if you'd just minded your own business but no! You're always interrupting me! Or maybe you're just protecting your girlfriend?"

"EW! No way, cheesehead! She ain't my freakin' girlfriend!" Raph argued.

"Yeah, you're right. You couldn't get a girl to like you if you tried… ESPECIALLY Miss Anti-Valentiner" Mikey said teasingly.

"You wanna bet, goofball?" Raph growled.

"Hmmm, I don't know Raphie. Girls are sorta way out of your league, it would be an unfair challenge for you. In fact, I bet you couldn't even get Who just to be your valentine"

"BRING IT! If I get the lil' witch to be my valentine, then you have to give up your videogames for a month!"

"And if you don't, you- well I'll think of something… and I can assure it'll be embarrassing" Mikey smirked evilly.

"Deal"

…

* * *

><p>"Well, the program just has a few more minutes left… then it'll be over all" Cupid sighed "I can't believe I failed"<p>

"Uhhh uhhh huuuhhh"

"Alright Ghoulia, I guess one last call won't kill me" Cupid picked up her cell-phone "Hi honeycomb, this is Cupid… tell me, what matters to your heart?"

"_Uhmm, hi… uh…Oh god, I can't believe I'm doing this"_

"Hello?"

"_Hey uh… I just heard about your show and… well… I feel a little silly for doing this but it__'s an emergency"_

"Cupid, on air in…" Tanis announced.

"Put Hyde in charge, this will take time" Cupid cut her off "Well, how can I help you?"

"_I… I have this… this friend of mine; she just passed through a rough time and…"_

"Oh, so… broke up with her boyfriend and now you want your chance?" Cupid smirked.

_"What? NO! No, it's not that. She's never had a boyfriend before. The problem is... she's like… she's totally against love in all ways possible"_

The pink haired girl's heart skipped a beat and her blue eyes widened.

"_She's been really hurt in the past by people she gave her trust to and I think that made her close her heart to the world and react so hastily towards it. I talked to her but she won't listen to me and…"_

"I can't believe… n-no, it can't… could be it?" Cupid's thoughts rushed but were interrupted by a sigh of frustration coming from the other side of the phone.

"_I'm desperate. I really want her to be happy, just that"_

"Ghoulia, this is it. Hit it!" Cupid ordered.

"Uhhhuhh huhh?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Just do it!"

Ghoulia pressed a skull shaped red button and everything stopped in the studio.

"Hey what happened?" Tanis stormed up inside the room.

"Ghoulia, did you trace the call?" Cupid asked.

"Uhhh hhuuhh"

"Alright, then I'll go there right away!"

"Cupid! What's going on?" Tanis asked. Cupid smiled at her in triumph.

"Tanis, my dear… I'm going to New York tonight"


	6. Chapter 6

The phone call had been abruptly interrupted by static and things got weirder when the whole city suffered a blackout all of sudden but just as fast as it came, it vanished. The city's electrical system was working normally again and people didn't even seem to have noticed this; only Leo did… apparently. He was still waiting on the phone for a reply but there was just static on the other side of the line.

"Hello?" Leo hung up and dialed again and was always greeted by the same message: _'This number is not in service'_

"Oh c'mon!" Leo dialed a couple of times more but nothing changed.

"Well, I guess Don was right" Leo sighed, hanging up the phone for the last time "How did I even think this was going to work?"

In his frustration, Leo didn't notice the black and teal car with crescent moons and claws details arriving to the old building where he was and the tall and physically fit teenage werewolf jumped out of the vehicle.

"Here we are" Clawd announced opening the door to his feminine passenger like a true gentlema-… werewolf. Cupid had dug her nails in the seat and she had tied three seat-belts around her.

"You ok, ghoul?"

"B-better than ever" Cupid smiled nervously.

"Oh sorry about the wild ride" Clawd apologized "But y'know… full moon and stuff. It kinda comes with the werewolf side"

"I understand" Cupid said now out of the car "Thanks again, Clawd"

"No prob, ghoul. Go get that normie!" Clawd chuckled.

"Tell Draculaura I promise I'll be on time for her Sweet 1600 party!" Cupid yelled while she ran to the next dark ally.

"_Ok, Cupid. This is it…" _

"…I've had enough…" Leo hissed while kicking an empty can.

"_You can do this…" _

"There was no way I could do it but no… I had to keep trying, what a fool!"

"_Stay calm…"_

"And now I can't calm down!" Leo yelled.

"_Remember be yourself…"_

The blue-clad ninja sighed. "I don't even know what I'm still doing here"

Leo jumped off the building landing in the asphalt gracefully. He didn't notice the figure standing behind him until he tripped.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't…"

The feminine voice stopped talking abruptly when the blue-clad ninja turned around and saw her. Both creatures stared at each other in astonishment, their eyes wide opened just like their mouths.

"You're… but I thought… how…" Cupid words' didn't seem to want to cooperate and remained trapped inside her brain. "… you're a monster… too?"

"_Time to get the shell outta here" _

Leo pulled out a smoke pill and slammed it to ground covering both in black smoke. Cupid was totally taken by surprise but the smoke wasn't thick enough so she could notice the strange green creature running away from her.

"WAIT! DON'T GO…!"

Leo ignored the girl's cries and kept climbing the emergency stairs above him. He couldn't believe he had been so careless; this weird looking girl had seen him but the weirdest thing was she never showed any signs of disgust or horror but of pure surprise instead.

"HEY! WAIT UP, PLEASE…"

"Well, well, well…" A voice came from the dark. "Look what we have here"

"Hey doll, looking hot"

"Stay back!" Cupid yelled threateningly raising her bow.

"Aww lookit her, Tyler. Ain't she cute?"

"What are ya gonna do? Poke us with yer pink stick?"

"Why don't we find out?"

One of the thugs pulled out a chain and aimed at Cupid's legs; when she tried to run the chain trapped her right foot making her hit the ground hard. Before darkness claimed her, she heard a battle cry and a dark, blurry figure beating the punks.

…

* * *

><p>"Hey, are you ok?"<p>

Cupid's eyes opened slowly, her dizziness dissipating."Ow, my head"

"Did they hurt you?"

"No… I'm…" Cupid rubbed her eyes and looked at the green creature in front of her "YOU! YOU'RE THE GUY I SAW IN THAT ALLEY"

"Yeah, uhmmm… listen, you just hit your head pretty hard ok?" Leo said "Where do you live so I can take you home?"

"The Olympus but I have an apartment near Monster High's institute" Cupid said while standing up.

Leo looked at her quizzically. "Huh?"

"How come I've never seen you there? Or do you go to another school? Are you a salt water monster or a fresh water monster?" Cupid asked to a very confused Leo who remained in silence.

Cupid arched a brow. "You… don't talk too much, do you?"

Leo brushed away the previous questions and decided to make on of his own "I have something to ask you… you're not… afraid of me or something? I mean, I'm a giant talking turtle"

"Of course not! Where I come from there are many kind of monsters but to be honest, I'd never seen a monster like you" Cupid chuckled.

"Uhmm… how about you stop calling me 'monster', ok? It's kinda offensive" Leo said in a serious voice.

"Sorry, what's your name?"

"Leonardo. And yours?"

"Cupid"

Leo blinked. "O…k, you _did _hit your head pretty hard. Seriously, what's your name?"

"Cupid! You know, the radio show girl?" Cupid smiled.

"You're… but… huh? If you're… then…" Leo stuttered "What were you doing in that alley?"

"I got a phone call a few minutes ago and my tracker took me to that building but… apparently I was…"

"You got _my_ call?" Leo asked in surprise.

"So you're the one I was looking for" Cupid said enthusiastically "Well, let's get to work. Tell me more about my client; who is she, how does she look like? How long has she been an anti valentiner?"

"Time out!" Leo interrupted her "You're saying… _you_'re Cupid?"

"Yes"

"And you're a… monster?"

Cupid nodded. "Uh huh"

"And you're the hostess of that radio show and you got my call and now you're here to help me?"

"Exactly!"

"Just one more question: is there a medicine you need to take for you hallucinations?" Right after Leo said that, Cupid's hand stamped on his cheek "OW! HEY!"

"That was for insulting me!" Cupid said angrily "If I wasn't Cupid I wouldn't have come all the way down here, being chased by criminals, risking my safety and secret identity!"

Leo looked at her again; it was unbelievable this pink skinned/haired/dressed girl, with pink lipstick on the center of her lips to make her mouth appear heart-shaped and rib caged featherless wings was standing a few centimeters away from him … was she even human? Or Halloween had come early this year? Well, for the description it was obvious she wasn't human but…

"I thought Cupid… was a guy"

"Here we go again" Cupid facepalmed "Look, I'm not my dad ok?"

"Your dad?"

"Eros, responsible of Valentine's Day? Bow and arrows? That rings a bell? HELLO?"

"I can't believe this is real" Leo slapped himself across the face.

"I know; I didn't expect you to believe me on the first try so… I guess I'll have to prove it to you. Now, take me to your home"

"M-MY HOME? Are you kidding me?"

"Don't worry, if you hide me well nobody will know I'm there" Cupid winked.

Leo sighed heavily. "I might be insane but… alright"

"You won't regret it" Cupid patted the ninja's shell.

"Believe me… I'm regretting it now"


	7. Chapter 7

_**Turtles' Lair**_

**2**_** hours later**_

"This is place is quiet" Cupid said as she stepped inside the lair.

"Maybe too quiet" Leo pointed out while he looked around for signs of his brothers. Soon he heard steps coming from the kitchen and the lab's door opening.

"Go upstairs and get into my room, quick!" Leo ordered and Cupid obeyed in a blink. Just when the door closed, Don appeared in the middle of the living room holding Klunk by the scruff of his neck.

"Mikey, I've told you to keep your cat away from my lab!" Don protested.

Mikey shrugged. "Not my fault he likes it in there"

Leo took advantage of his brothers' distraction and locked himself in his room where Cupid awaited.

"Poor kitty, he only wants to spend some time with him and show him some kitty love" Cupid sighed.

"How do you know that?" Leo asked.

"My dad taught me well, Leo; I know these things" Cupid smirked while she prepared her arrow and aimed at Don.

"Wait, wait, wait… what are you doing?"

"I told you I was going to prove who I am" Cupid said "All I need… is… to… focus…" She narrowed her eyes and shot her arrow directly at Don.

"YES!" Cupid cried but Leo placed his hand on her mouth to shut her up.

"And this little fur ball needs to understand that…" A sharp pain on his left shoulder made Don stop talking immediately. The tiny meow obligated Don focus his attention in the orange tabby and the world around him just vanished.

"… he's… the cutest cat ever~" Klunk tilted his head to the side making Don 'awww' and hug him tightly.

"C'mere kitty! You're adorable!"

Leo looked at the scene in astonishment while Cupid smirked in triumph.

"C'mon Klunkers…" Mikey irrupted in the room "Uncle Donnie doesn't…"

"Hey! Take your hands off him!" Don growled taking Klunk away from Mikey.

"He's my cat and you said you don't like him!" Mikey argued.

"These arrows have never failed me…" Cupid started "…once someone is hit by one, they'll fall in love with the first thing they see"

"Unbelievable" Leo said to himself. Cupid sat on Leo's futon and her expression became serious.

"Now, tell me more about this… Who"

"Well, she's like… a hardcore anti valentiner; she hates it even more than pink stuff… uh, no offense"

"Non taken" Cupid's face softened "So, is there a reason why?"

"Maybe; she's reserved and silent… quiet most f the time but… once you get to know her, you can see she's someone you can trust in and will cheer you up no matter how down you feel"

Cupid looked at the picture in Leo's drawer. "I assume _this_ is Who?" she asked teasingly.

"Before you say something…" Leo narrowed eyes "…we're just good friends"

"Alright, alright. I'll help her"

"But before that, can you uhmm…" Leo pointed at his two brothers downstairs who were still fighting over Klunk.

"GIMME MY CAT!"

"IT'S MINE, HE LIKES ME!"

"Oops, hang on" Cupid took another arrow and broke it in a half. Don stopped running around, slowly coming back to reality.

"What… happened?"

"Gimme my kitty!" Mikey snatched the cat from Don's grip "Poor Klunk… are you ok, my little baby?"

"So, let me get this… you break an arrow and the 'spell' is gone?" Leo asked.

"This case was different because I used a weak and simple love spell so I only need to destroy one of my arrows to break it. When I use stronger spells, the only way to break the spell is destroying my bow" Cupid explained.

"How's that going to help her not to be an anti valentiner?"

"The first step to help anti valentiners is to make them fall in love so they can see the world around them with different eyes. Does she have any love interests?"

Leo sighed. "What part of _'she's never had a boyfriend'_ you didn't understand?"

"I was just asking! Don't get your panties in a bunch" Cupid rolled eyes. "What about your bros? It'll be just for one day and then…"

Leo shook his head negatively. "Oh no, I don't think that's a good idea"

"Why not? I could start with… that one!"

"Mikey? Oh no… Who and Mikey declared war to each other… kinda"

"What a perfect way to solve things!" Cupid said cheerfully while preparing the next arrow. Meanwhile, Who had just left the kitchen when she tripped with Mikey.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Oh, excuse me… Miss Anti-V" Mikey said bowing at her mockingly.

"Drop it already, cry baby" Who rolled eyes.

"Never" Mikey folded arms.

"That's it! What's your problem? Stop being childish for once!"

"Oh, now I'm being…" Mikey's words were interrupted by the feeling of something pointy hitting his arm.

"… I'm… I don't know what I was thinking…" he continued in a zombie-like way "How come I never realized that…"

"You're childish?" Who chuckled.

"… you're the most beautiful creature in the world~"

"WHAT?"

"Could you ever forgive me for… whatever I did to you, _sweetheart_?" Mikey said dreamily.

Who blinked. "O…k? All forgiven but…"

"YES! SHE FORGAVE ME~ I'M THE HAPPIEST TURTLE ALIVE~" Mikey jumped around her.

"Cupid please, just make it stop!" Leo pleaded; Cupid broke another arrow freeing Mikey from the spell.

"Wow… dudette, what a trip!" Mikey chuckled and made his way to the living room.

"Well, I guess he's definitely not her perfect match" Cupid sighed.

"Oh really~? What makes you think that?" Leo said sarcastically.

"What about him?" Cupid asked pointing at the genius turtle who came out of his lab with an empty coffee mug.

"Although Donnie is a nice candidate… I don't…" Before Leo could mutter another word, Cupid aimed at Don once again and shot.

"Gee, you should've seen Mikey acting all crazy" Who commented

"So you two are friends again?"

"Apparently yes, but seriously… that kid needs to lay down the burritos and the MNT Dew. Anyway, what are you doing?"

"I…" This time, the arrow got Don on his leg "…don't know anymore"

"Uhmm… I needed someone to help me with this song…"

"Oh no… I'm not worthy of listening to such lovely creature~" Don said dramatically. Leo facepalmed; Don looked as stupid as Mikey when he was shot… even more.

"What's going on with people around here? First Mikey now you?"

"Mikey? Did he say something to you? I'll make him regret it, _cupcake~_"

"Cupid, stop him!" Leo ordered firmly.

"What! You said he was…" Cupid was cut off but Leo's deadly glare.

"Fine!" Right after the arrow was destroyed, Don came back to reality leaving a very clueless Who alone while he went to the kitchen to get more coffee.

"Those kids need psychological treatment" Who sighed "Guess I'll have to practice alone" Who walked upstairs and disappeared in her room. The lair's door opened and a dark green skinned figure appear; pretty much to Leo's dismay, Cupid noticed him.

"Oh, what about him?"

"No Cupid, that's enough. I'll find a way to help Who by myself"

"C'mon! Just let me try him out!" Cupid insisted recharging her bow.

"Cupid, I mean it!" Leo snatched the artifact from her hands "Cut it out"

"Hey, let go of my bow!" Cupid protested. Both Leo and Cupid struggled to get full control of the bow, none of them giving in.

"You're gonna mess up my shot!"

Cupid half grabbed her bow back again but with Leo still getting in the way. With all that struggling, they didn't notice Who was leaning against the bars beside the stairs and accidentally, the arrow had been released already. The arrow bounced off walls, the couch where Mikey was sitting in watching cartoons, hit the TV and finally landed on…

"What the… AHHHH!" The arrow had hit Who's back hard making her lose balance. Her cries alarmed the other three ninjas; Don abandoned his lab and Mikey jumped off the couch just to see Who falling from the second floor.

"Oh my ghoul… I can't see!" Cupid said in a high pitched voice while covering her eyes. Leo stormed out of his room and tried to jump and catch her before she hit the ground but someone else had caught her in time.

"Wow! What the shell, girl!"

The dark haired girl opened her eyes catching a first, blurry glance of a red mask.

"Is she ok?" Mikey asked.

"Is she hurt?" Don added.

"What the heck just happened?" Raph demanded putting the girl down.

"N-nothing"

Everyone sighed in relief.

"Except…" she continued "…I found you…" Before anyone could react, Who was already hugging the red-clad ninja and a goofy/dreamy smile on her face "…my Valentine~"

"SAY WHAT?" Don and Mikey yelled in shock. Raph stood there dumbfounded; then an idea hit him as he slowly smirked darkly, glancing at Mikey.

"Mikey… I think I won the bet, little brother"

"Oh no…" Leo said mentally "This… is _definitely_ wrong!"

...

* * *

><p>"So, I guess someone has to give up his videogames now?" Raph said teasingly while pacing around Mikey.<p>

"You still have to survive Valentine's Day!" Mikey replied.

"That won't be a problem, right babe?"

"Whatever you say, honeybunch~" Who answered, clinging into Raph's arm.

"O…k, I think I'll lay down the coffee for a while" Don said, still shocked by the whole situation.

"You go get your videogames; I want them in my room… now" Raph ordered.

Mikey folded arms, grinning defiantly "And what if I…" he couldn't end up his phrase because Who was twisting the youngest ninja's arm in a painful way.

"OK, OK, OK! I GIVE!" Who released Mikey who immediately ran to his room in order to get all his videogames.

"Heck yeah, that's my girl" Raph patted Who's back.

"Isn't he dreamy?" Who sighed, never taking her eyes off Raph. Leo just shook his head and rushed upstairs; Cupid had a lot to explain.

"Did it work?" Cupid asked once Leo opened the door.

"You can see it yourself" Leo pointed outside; downstairs, Raph was showing off some moves while Who sighed and cheered like a Disney princess "Now I can't even recognize her!"

"Well, it seems like that big guy is her perfect match so I don't see the problem" Cupid shrugged.

"THAT'S THE PROBLEM! They _can't stand_ each other!" Leo replied.

Cupid peeked again, staring at the new 'couple' and shrugged again "I don't see it"

"Because she's under that spell!"

"Listen, I've been asking my dad for this promotion like for centuries! All I needed was one anti valentiner like your friend so I could get it!" Cupid explained.

"You did this just because of that?" Leo hissed.

"No! … yes but…" Leo was about to leave when Cupid grabbed his hand "Leo, you have to believe me. When I heard your case, I knew I had to come immediately! I just couldn't stand seeing someone so miserable and unhappy! Now look at her, she's happy!"

"Cupid… she's sighing over Raph… I mean… Raph!" Leo blurted out.

"Look, we just have to wait until Valentine's Day. After that, I'll destroy my bow and BAM! All over! What do you say?" Cupid extended her hand towards the blue-clad ninja.

Leo sighed and shook hands with the pink haired girl "Alright…"

It was almost 4 am when Leo left the lair with Cupid and took her where they had first met; the same car waited for her… it all had been so quick… so sudden it was almost unreal. Cupid and Leo said good bye to each other and the pink haired girl walked towards the car.

"Just one thing before I leave…" Cupid turned around a looked at Leo in a serious but creepy way "If someone breaks her heart, there will be horrible consequences. And I mean …_horrible_"

...

* * *

><p>I want to thank T-Girl for the extremely-incredible help here. THANKS A LOT, MY DEARY! HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

**February 14****th**

The 'Oh! So waited' day had finally arrived. Who was the first one to wake up and greet the guys with an special V-Day's breakfast for everyone; she had even helped Mikey decorating the place while she hummed the most heartwarming songs. The turtles' commentaries were all positive about her sudden change of heart; they didn't think it was because of Raph, of course, but they didn't discard that possibility… and that didn't please the leader turtle but he let it slide.

Who and Raph spent the whole morning together doing whatever Raph wanted to do. The dark haired girl just followed him with the same dreamy smile on her face, flattering him and calling him by the sweetest nicknames she could find. Again, someone was watching them pretty close with a frown on his face.

"_It'll be just until this day is over" _

…

…

_**Later that same day…**_

…

…

"You ready?"

"Always, sweetie"

Who and Raph walked downstairs, the girl almost hugging the red-clad ninja. Raph was wearing his black hoodie, a red T-shirt, jeans, black sport shoes and chains attached to his belt while Who was dressed in a fitted mini classic cocktail red dress and black heels.

"Woohoo~ You lucky turtle, you! I almost regret I made that bet" Mikey punched Raph playfully in the shoulder "Looking hot, Who"

"Thanks" the girl said blushing.

"Where are you going, you guys?" Don asked.

"There's a Valentine carnival in town so I thought it'll be nice for me and _my Valentine… _to go there and have some fun" Who said.

"April told me about it, she's probably there already with Casey"

"Why don't you guys tag along? I mean, Valentine's Day is not only for couples, right handsome?"

"Sure" Raph shrugged. While the others ran to get dressed, Leo approached to his red-clad brother.

"Can I have a word with you, Raph? In private"

"Wait for me, doll" Raph winked at his date and followed Leo to the kitchen.

"Ok, I'll go straight to the point" Leo started "This thing about Who…"

"Man, that girl is a great actress! I didn't know she knew about the bet" Raph chuckled.

"Wait what? What bet?" Leo arched a brow.

"I bet Mikey I could get Who to be my Valentine and now his videogames are mine for a whole month!" Raph fist pumped.

"O…k? Uhmm, listen… you know this will end once V-Day is over, right?"

"Of course I know. I mean, it's not like I like her or something. So don't be jealous" Raph noogied the blue-clad ninja.

"I'm not jealous!" Leo protested while freeing himself "What I'm trying to say is… now Who has… uh… _changed_… in a good way, try to make her feel comfortable will you?"

"Relax, I'm not so bad with girls"

Leo blinked.

The sai wielder rolled eyes "Ok, maybe a little but I won't mess it up. I promise"

…

* * *

><p>The whole team was having a blast at the carnival; maybe Don and Mikey were still single but they caught the attention of some girls who waved at them or flirted with them when they had the opportunity. If they only knew the truth, Don thought, but who cared in that moment! It was party time!<p>

Casey and April exchanged kisses, presents and loving gazes, the hockey masked vigilante looked like a young teenager in love again and so did April. It was sweet and touching to look at them expressing their love to each other; they almost forgot about the Hamatos once or twice. It was the vibe around them… the Valentine's Day vibe.

Raph and Who were a different case; although the spell was working perfectly on making Who lovey-dovey… Raph didn't show so much interest on her, especially when she started to get clingier by the minute. His goal was to win that bet and make Mikey eat his words and kiss his shell; he just had to survive for one day. On the other hand, being attended, adored and pampered by a girl once in a while wasn't too bad at all… would he dare to keep up this charade?

Leo was the only one who was a little distracted that day; he was dead worried about Cupid's words before she left: What was that horrible thing that would happen if Who got hurt? He looked at her and his brother hanging out… they looked pretty decent together…

No… this was wrong; she didn't love him for real and Raph's feelings weren't reciprocal either. She was bewitched… somehow; maybe her thoughts about Valentine's Day would change but… was this correct? Did he do the right thing? If he did, then… why did he feel so bad? Raphael liked her like a little sister; he wouldn't dare to hurt her on purpose… right?

"Hey there" Leo's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a sweet voice he knew very well.

"Cupid! What are you doing here?"

The pink haired girl was dressed in a pink hoodie to hide her wings, the rest of the outfit was pretty much the same.

"Enjoying the carnival like everyone else, of course" Cupid giggled "Want a caramel apple?"

"No thanks" Leo eyed at Who and Raph, observing them cautiously.

"How are things going with the turtledoves?" Cupid asked.

"Raph's just enjoying the attention but I already warned him. If he does something to hurt her feelings, he's dead"

"Someone cares too much about his friends, huh?" Cupid elbowed Leo.

"Well, you told me something horrible would happen so…"

"I understand; now go with your family" Cupid chuckled while walking away "By the way: Happy Valentine's Day!"

Leo didn't see her for the rest of the day. He decided to chill out and join Mikey and Donnie in a few games.

…

* * *

><p>"Dude, I see it and I can't believe it"<p>

"Believe it, Case man. The Ice Lady is all mine for today and Mikey's videogames… for a whole month!" Raph said after drinking his soda.

"And she just, like, chose you as her date?" Casey chuckled.

"Valentine, Casey; she's just my valentine" Raph corrected him "And just for today… after this, everything will go back to normal"

"Look what I got you, my sunshine~" Who said in a singsong voice placing a stuffed panda bear in front of Raph.

"Oh… very nice. Thanks" Raph smiled sheepishly.

"I knew you'd love it" Who hugged him "You hungry?

"Uh…"

"I'll be right back. Miss me~ Smooches~" Who went to the next hot dog stand while blowing kisses at her date.

"_My sunshine_? Really?" Casey laughed.

"Shut up" Raph growled.

"Dunno Raph… to me… I think she ain't acting"

"C'mon, she's an artist… her life goes around stages and performances and acting! She's just pretty good, that's all" Raph explained.

"Hope you're right, man. You know what they say… you mess up with a woman's heart, you'll be paying for it the rest of your life"

Raph snorted. "Since when you became so poetic?"

"Maybe since I got married… dunno" Casey shrugged "… or could be this caramel apple"

…

* * *

><p>The fireworks illuminated the city; the couples snuggled and hugged in the grass or their cars or any spot available. Cupid looked at them pleased with her job and her father's… another perfect Valentine's Day… just perfect. The pink haired girl spotted some familiar faces in the crowd that observed the fireworks while lying on the grass; her most recent piece of art sat on the ground hugging the red-clad ninja like he was a teddy bear. Cupid sighed dreamily.<p>

"This has been the best Valentine's Day ever" Who sighed and rested her head on the ninja's shoulder "Thanks Raph"

"You're welcome, doll" Raph put his arm round Who's waist, pulling her close.

"Psst!" Mikey elbowed Leo a little too hard "Don't look now but I think Raph's bad boy's attitude scored him a girl and not just any girl… if you know what I'm talking about" the prankster said wiggling his brow.

"Uh-huh, sure Mikey" Leo snorted. He glanced slightly at Who and Raph; he sighed and decided to look away.

"Someone here is jealous~" Mikey poked at the leader; Don couldn't help but giggle.

"I'm not" Leo folded arms.

"You _so_ are, dude!" Mikey laughed hard, holding his sides.

"Whatever" Leo tsked _"Thanks God this will be over tomorrow"_

Unknown of the blue-clad ninja, Cupid's plans were starting to change radically. _"Maybe… I'll let them be that way for one more day" "I think they'll be just fine"_

_..._

* * *

><p>Inspired Whoey ish inspired~ MOAR CHAPPIES FOR VDAY! Hope you're all having the time of your lives~<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

Nobody loved sleeping like Raphael did… except for Mikey, of course, but this case was different; after the fireworks display, the red-clad ninja's valentine date had taken him, Casey and April to a club and danced all night long. Sure Raph and Casey had had their own parties before but this one had been wild; Who did know how to party, he had to admit, and now the sai wielder couldn't move a limb if he tried. After a night like that, his beloved hammock, his soft pillow and some sleep were everything Raph needed now.

And he slept.

That was until his door opened and the lights went on.

"GOOD MORNING, MY GREEN SKINNED SWEETIE PIE~!"

Raph woke up abruptly at the high pitched, singsong voice. "Wha… how… where… huh?"

"Great! You're awake!" Who said cheerfully "So what are we going to do today? A romantic motorcycle ride to Central Park? Watch a romantic movie? Or…"

"How about we go back to sleep?" Raph said groggily covering himself again with the blanket.

"Aww, you're so silly" The girl giggled "Now c'mon, it's time to get up sleepy head~" Who grabbed the edge of the hammock and expertly flipped it, making the sleeping turtle to fall down ungraciously.

"WHO, WHAT THE SHELL?"

"Aww, you're alright my big strong turtle" Who hugged him, preventing him to get up.

"Get off me!" Raph pushed her away "Who, it's not Valentine's day anymore. You can quit with the lovey dovey act"

Who looked at him quizzically. "What act?"

Raph narrowed eyes. "This charade about you loving me"

"But I do! Raphie bear~" Who hugged him again, tighter this time.

"Would you quit that! It's freaking me out" Raph squirmed trying to escape from her grip. They stayed like this until the red-clad ninja managed to free himself once again.

"Awww Raphie Waphie~ What's the matter?" Who pouted.

"You are!" Raph yelled "I gotta go talk to Leo"

The sai wielder stormed out of his room slamming the door shut, leaving a clueless Who on the floor.

_**Meanwhile…**_

"Wakey, wakey sleepy head~"

Leo's whined protest was muffled by the pillow he had on his face; reluctantly, he tossed it away and stirred his arms and legs just like Klunk did after a long nap in the couch. He rubbed his eyes and noticed a blurry pinkish figure sitting right beside him. Leo opened his eyes wide and confirmed his thoughts.

"Hi"

"Cupid?" Leo jumped out the bed "What are you doing here? I thought you were back to… wherever you came from"

"We had a deal remember?" Cupid smiled.

"What… oh, yeah" Leo chuckled "Finally that nightmare will be over"

"How did she behave?"

"Well, you saw it yourself at the carnival" Leo said placing his swords back to his belt.

"And thanks to that, now dad's allowed me to help both monsters _and_ normies! Just like him" Cupid commented proudly "Now all I have to wait is for my wings to grow some feathers"

The door knob in Leo's room moved from left to right insistently and a rough voice called his name out loud.

"Quick, hide!" Leo ordered; Cupid managed to hide behind Leo's bookshelf just as the door bursted open.

"AH, nice to see you're awake…" Raph said sarcastically "…cuz we need to talk"

"Talk? About what?" Leo looked at him in confusion… fake confusion.

"_Your_ crazy friend"

"What about her?"

"Ok, I admit it was nice having a decent date for a change and her acting was incredible but now she won't stop!" Raph said "She just woke me up with those stupid ideas of me and her going out on my bike and all that romanticism crap!"

"Relax Raph; maybe she's just trying to give you a scare, that's all"

"Well, you can tell her she succeeded! I'm freaked out with her new attitude!" Raph yelled, almost in panic.

"Look, just let her be. She'll calm down once the chocolates she ate lose their effect, ok? Then everything will go back to normal like it didn't happen in the first place" Leo calmed his distressed brother, hoping his silly made up story would work.

"Hope you're right, Fearless. Cuz I'm sick and tired of hearing…"

"_Where are you honeybunch ~?" _Who's voice came from outside.

"GRRRR! STOP IT, WILL YOU?" Raph left the room in a blink.

Leo laughed quietly. "Looks like you arrived in a good moment, Cupid"

"Indeed" Cupid chuckled and pulled out her bow "Alright, bye-bye lovey Who"

The pink haired girl used her right arrow shaped heel to break the bow in two perfect halves; the process was complete, the spell would vanish. Who would come back…

"Is it done?" Leo asked.

"I guess so" Cupid shrugged.

… or so they thought.

"_Oh Raphie~ I'm gonna get you~"_ Who's soft voice came from the living room followed by a yelp from Raph who had been glomped again.

"_Stop following me!"_ Raph protested.

"I don't get it!" Cupid said in shock "She should've gone back to normal! Unless…"

Leo looked at the young monster girl. "Unless what?"

"The spell worked perfectly… maybe too much for her own good. Now your friend will be forever in love with him!" Cupid said realizing what she had done.

"Can't you fix it?"

"I'm afraid I can't" Cupid sighed sadly.

"Cupid, you can't leave her like that!" Leo replied taking her by her shoulders.

"Listen, I'll try to get some help from my dad but till then I need you to keep an eye on her, ok?"

"I'll try… though it's not going to be easy" Leo sighed, running a hand over his face.

…

* * *

><p>It was lunch time at the Hamatos' place and things between Who and Raph were still pretty much the same: while she idolized him, he tried to escape from her but this time Raph hadn't succeeded on his task. and now he found himself sat on a chair, resting his face with his left hand while listening to Who talking non-stop.<p>

"Wow, I thought I'd never see the day…" Don commented as he entered into the kitchen, grabbing some juice from the fridge.

"Shut up, Don. She's just sugar high" Raph replied.

"Suuuure, whatever you say" Don chuckled.

"Is there a problem, little carebear?" Who asked lovingly.

"Little what?" Don laughed his shell off "Oh my… that's priceless"

"Don, get your shell out of this kitchen before I make you my new punching bag!" Raph growled.

Don continued laughing while he walked away. "Alright… carebear"

Raph slammed his fist on the table making the girl's smile disappear and jump back in fear; he stood up and made his way out of the room.

"Want to do something?" Who asked hopefully.

"Don't you have some paper work to do or something?" Raph asked back a little annoyed.

"Aww, yeh now I remember…" Who sighed "But I can finish that off later"

"Look, I don't know how many chocolates you ate but you're not just high… you're hyper and annoying!"

"Huh?"

Raph sighed. "Nevermind; maybe I'll go watch TV or something"

"Ok" Who stood up "What do you want to watch? Maybe a movie or…"

"Alone!" Raph interrupted her giving her a mild glare.

"Oh… sure"

"Geez, this girl is annoying!" Raph said out loud "How the shell can I stop her?"

"Is your dreamed date causing you trouble, Raphie-boy?"

"Not in the mood, Mikey" Raph sighed slumping on the couch.

Mikey chuckled and paced. "If _I_ wanted to get rid of someone who's causing me trouble… I'd do something immediately…"

"Something in mind?" Raph asked.

"Maybe…?" Mikey said innocently.

Raph smirked. "I'm all ears"


	10. Chapter 10

"Don, have you seen Raph? I can't find him anywhere" Leo asked as he entered into the lab.

"He just left with Who" Don answered from his spot under the Sewer Slider.

"I see" Leo's expression turned serious "Out on another date, I believe?"

"Yup. Those two are spending too much time together, pretty weird don't you think?"

"Uh, yeah" Leo folded arms leaning into the vehicle.

"Raph of all turtles… who would've thought that, huh?" Don chuckled.

"Don't you have a project to focus on?" Leo said a little annoyed.

"Relax, I was just making conversation" Don replied.

"Do you know where were they going?" Leo asked ignoring Don's statement.

"Raph left a note. It says: _79th Street and Central Park West__… just in case someone is __**actually**__ dying, otherwise __**DO NOT INTERRUPT US**__!"_

Leo blinked. "The American Museum of Natural History? Why would they go there?"

"Beats me…" Don said while grabbing a wrench"…though Raph was bragging about a new exhibition Who hadn't seen yet… something _'heart stopping'_; any ideas?"

Leo's heart skipped a beat when he realized Raph's twisted plan. "Yes… and I hope I'm wrong"

Meanwhile, Raph waited impatiently for the lights to turn green again; he knew Mikey was already in position waiting for him and Who to arrive to the museum and now the red-clad turtle couldn't wait any longer to be there as well, he would finally put an end to his dark haired nightmare now sitting beside him and resting her head on his shoulder. His cell phone rang insistently; a quick peek confirmed his thoughts, he smirked and turned off the device.

"Who was it?"

"Wrong number".

"Where are you taking me?" Who asked.

"It's a surprise"

"Can't you give me a clue?" the girl pouted.

Raph chuckled. "Nuh-huh, you have to wait"

"OH! I just remembered, I have a surprise for you too~" Who said with a singsong voice hugging Raph tightly.

"Wow… delightful" The lights turned green again and the sai wielder accelerated.

…

* * *

><p>Leo ran his hand over his face. "He turned off the phone"<p>

"Try calling Who" Don suggested.

"I did, she's not answering either. I better go there before they do"

"You should've done that 10 minutes ago" Don replied.

Leo narrowed eyes and abandoned the lab as fast as he could. When he arrived to the garage, he couldn't believe his bad luck… the hauler wasn't there and neither was the bike.

"Aww great" Leo sighed "This day can't get worse"

"Hi" Leo turned around just to meet Cupid's smiling face.

"How are you doing?" Cupid barely finished her question when she felt the cold blades of Leo's swords pressed against her neck "H-hey! Put the swords down!"

"You started all this!" Leo hissed threateningly.

"Please, d-don't kill me! I-I can finally turn your friend back to normal!" Cupid said nervously.

Leo arched a brow. "You serious?"

Cupid nodded, her blue eyes staring at the blue-clad ninja in a pleading way. Leo removed the swords allowing Cupid to breathe normally.

"Where is she?"

"With Raph and we have to hurry before he does something really stupid" Leo said. Cupid looked at him quizzically.

"I'll explain later, now I need a car or something fast!"

Cupid rubbed her chin thoughtfully. She snapped her fingers and pulled out a heart-shaped remote and pressed the button; a pink car, full of hearts, bow and arrows details made its entry into the turtles' garage.

Cupid smirked. "Like it?"

"Uh… now I think I understand why Who doesn't like pink"

…

* * *

><p>Raph turned on his cell phone again and dialed a number. "Mikey, you there already?"<p>

"_Yup, everything's ready for the surprise of her life"_

"Did you check if someone was following you?"

"_Don was locked in his lab and Leo… I think he was taking a bath or something"_

Raph's eyes widened. "You didn't check if he stayed home?"

"_Hey, I'm not his mom or his bodyguard. I told you I was going to help you with this but checking on Leo wasn't part of the deal"  
><em>

"You idiot!" Raph growled "He's been after my shell since Valentine's day! You_ do_ realize we're doomed if he knows what we're gonna do?"

"_Ex-squeeze me? Did I hear 'we'?"_

"Yes! If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me…" Raph hissed "…so you better pray I don't see Leo's smug face here!"

The red-clad ninja hung up abruptly sighing heavily; the last thing he needed now was Leo ruining his plans. Raph felt a little bad for what he was about to do but if Who didn't want to leave him alone, then he'd make her leave him once and for all.

…

* * *

><p>A few streets away, Cupid and Leo did what they could to arrive in time but Cupid's tracker ad located her target near the museum.<p>

"Cupid, what did you mean that day when you said _'horrible consequences'_? What's the worst thing that could happen to Who?" Leo asked. Cupid looked at him sadly; she hated to give bad news but she couldn't hide the truth forever.

"The spell will become permanent till the moment she's heartbroken then it'll disappear but taking her heart as well… it'll disappear like smoke… and she'll be incapable of loving anyone ever. And no heart, equals no emotions. She'll be like a zombie"

"Why you didn't tell me that before?" Leo demanded angrily.

"I couldn't, those are the rules" Cupid replied.

Leo sighed heavily. "I shouldn't have called you"

Cupid felt a pang of guilt and felt like crying but she knew it was her fault. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to make things worse"

Leo's expression softened and placed a hand on Cupid's shoulder. "We still have time to make it right"

…

* * *

><p>"Raph, can you park over there?" Who pointed at a dark alley.<p>

"How so?"

"Trust me" The girl smiled knowingly. Raph noticed someone else was waiting there as he looked in the rearview mirror.

"What's Casey doing here?" Raph thought. Who jumped out of the car and asked something to the masked vigilante which was answered with a nod. The girl giggled and waited for Raph to join them.

"What's going on?" Raph demanded.

"Well, I told you I had a surprise for you so… here it is!"

From behind a dumpster, Casey dragged out a vibrant red bike with golden dragons and flames expertly designed. The bike used to be Raph's old one but with lots of modifications on its design, speed and brand new parts for more durability. Raph was speechless as he ran his hands all over the vehicle, his senses all focused on his bike.

"You like it?" Who asked.

"Love it" Raph smiled "How did you…"

"You have to thank Donnie; he helped me a lot. Oh! And Casey too"

"Give yourself some credit, girl!" Casey chuckled placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. Raph stared at her, noticing how red her face was as she looked away sheepishly.

"She designed it!" Casey said "The colors, the details… everything!"

"I… just wanted to say thanks for being so nice lately even though I've been kinda corny and all that but, you know, I've never been with someone special before… wasn't so sure how to react" Who commented, her face still red.

"Aww, ain't that sweet?" Casey let go of Who's shoulder to give his green pal a noogie. While both of them struggled and fought playfully, Who heard someone calling her.

"Psst, Whoey~" The orange-clad turtle waved "Over here" The girl followed Mikey. Once turtle and human stopped goofing around, Raph turned his attention back to his bike.

"I can't believe she did this for me"

"And I can't believe you haven't done anything for her yet, lover boy" Casey punched Raph's arm "Don't you know it's usually the guy who makes the gifts to his girl?"

"She ain't my girl!" Raph argued "But anyway, I do have something for…"

Then it hit him. "Oh no…Where is she?"

Casey shrugged. "Dunno, she was here just a second ago and then…"

Raph hurried inside the building with Casey following him. Now in the museum, Mikey tried his best to not laugh out loud while he guided a blindfolded Who through the corridors. Cupid and Leo had arrived as well and noticed the hauler, the bike but no one around them; they feared the worse and ran as fast as they could.

"Here we are" Mikey announced "You ready Who?"

"I'm so nervous!"

"Someone is very impatient. Now I can see why you and Raph make such a cute couple" Mikey chuckled.

"Over here!" Raph's voice could be heard as he got closer. Mikey grinned, waiting for the signal. His grin was suddenly erased when he heard another familiar voice.

"C'mon, this way!"

"Leo? Oh no, Raph's gonna kill me!" Mikey said out loud.

"What?" Who asked in confusion.

"No time for signals. Here's your surprise Whoey…" Before Raph and others arrived, Mikey untied the blindfold.


	11. Chapter 11

Raph panted tiredly, he didn't remember the museum was so big but maybe it was just an illusion caused by his desperation.

"Raph… are you sure you know where Mikey is?" Casey asked.

A loud scream alarmed everyone; guards and curious people ran towards the place where the screams came… this also caught Cupid's attention.

"Leo, over there!"

Raph and Casey where the first ones to arrive and found Mikey laughing his shell off, holding his sides but there was no sight of Who anywhere near.

"You should've seen her face!" Mikey laughed.

Raph grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him "Where is she?"

"Raph?" The latter glanced at his blue-clad brother who had joined the scene. Cupid waited behind a statue, observing in silence.

"Leo? What are you doing here?" Raph asked, letting go of Mikey.

"Where is she?" Leo demanded.

"She just ran away right after I got rid of the blindfold" Mikey laughed "It was perfect!"

"Are you alright, Miss?" They heard a guard's voice a few steps away from them. He was holding a hysterical and shaky dark haired girl. She glanced up meeting Raph's gaze and ran towards him.

"RAPHIE!" she screamed "It was horrible, they were everywhere!"

The sai wielder just stood there holding the distraught girl, letting her cry. Casey and Leo had to take care of the guards and people that were gathering round them, the last thing they needed was more attention. Mikey continued laughing at Who, the latter let go of Raphael and glared at the laughing teenager.

"Mikey, how could you!" Who yelled "You know I'm scared to death of butterflies and you brought me to a butterfly conservatory?"

"Hey don't blame me; it was your _Raphie's~ _idea" Mikey said chuckling.

"What?" Who's voice was barely a whisper, her dark eyes wide opened "You… you planned this?

"I didn't want to do it but you gave me no choice! You wouldn't leave me alone!" Raph replied "I told you, you could drop the act after V-day but no! You just had to keep acting weird!"

Cupid gasped in shock while listening to the heated conversation. A beeping sound coming from Cupid's belt caught her attention; her tracker was overheating. "Oh no… this is bad"

People in the museum kept whispering and looking at the scene; Who couldn't stand this any longer and abandoned the place with the Hamatos and Casey following her; Jones let out a long sigh and glanced at Mikey.

"Kid, tell me this wasn't Raph's idea"

Mikey lowered his gaze and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well… if I say _no_, would you stop staring at me like you're gonna kill me?"

The vigilante didn't need more explanations; Raph had messed up big time. Cupid had followed the three disguised ninjas and their human friend; they found Who leaning against the BattleShell, sobbing quietly and still shaking.

"How could you do this to me?" The girl said with a shaky voice.

"Aww don't start crying!" Raph looked at her coldly "Look, how was I supposed to know you actually liked me since a few days before V-day you hated my guts!"

"Raph, enough!" Leo interfered.

"What for?" Raph replied "I'm just trying to figure out what stupid little charade you two are trying to pull on me!"

In the background, Cupid's scanner registered incredibly high intensity levels.

"Guys… please stop it" she whispered to herself. She wished she could just go there and put an end to this; sadly, she couldn't.

"What do you mean _'us two'_?" Leo sent daggers at his red-clad brother with his words and his deadly glare.

"Don't act coy, Fearless… really, it doesn't suit ya"

"Wha- hey, this isn't about me! If I remember well, _you_ dragged her into this with your stupid bet!"

"Not my fault you didn't have the guts to get her in the first place. Then we wouldn't have to pass through all this stupid drama" Raph snarled "We both know ever since I started getting to close to your girlfriend you started getting jealous"

"First of all, she's not my girlfriend and again this it's not a charade Raph as unbelievable as it sounds!"

"Guys, just drop it already. This won't solve anything" Casey interfered.

"Stop it! Stop it, just stop it!"

Everyone turned their attention to the dark haired girl but she wasn't there anymore, her voice was the only thing that could be heard. Leo tried to catch her but she was simply vanished.

"Mikey, get in the BattleShell with Casey and start searching. She couldn't have gone so far by foot" Leo ordered "Raph, you…"

"I know; I'm on it" Raph cut him off while he climbed on his bike and joined the others.

"Leo"

The sword wielder glanced at the pink skinned figure coming out from her hiding spot. "Cupid?"

She walked towards him, her blue eyes looking at the ground below her.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked hesitantly. Cupid glanced up and a couple of black tears rolled down her pale pink cheeks.

…

* * *

><p>The doors of the lair bursted open making the slumbering tabby wake up with a loud meow and a hiss which made Donatello jump in surprise by the sudden movement, the back of his head hitting the table pretty hard.<p>

"Ow… that will bruise" Don said to himself as he rubbed the aching spot. The genius turtle came out of his lab just to find a trembling figure standing in front of him.

"Who?"

Don could barely keep them both from falling down when the dark haired girl threw herself upon him, embracing the genius tightly while crying her heart out.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Don asked worriedly. He couldn't get answers from her, just more sobbing.

"Sshhh, calm down"

It was a difficult task to get the girl to the kitchen, try to make her take some pills and drink her tea before the purple-clad ninja could take her to her room. She would calm down for a few seconds, then she'd cry for 10 minutes. Don didn't know what else he could do; he tried calling his brothers twice but when Who refused the third time, Don demanded answers trying to sound as serious as Leo was while he lectured someone. His tactic worked immediately, the dark haired girl told him everything, every single detail; at the end of her story, the resident engineer was speechless. He knew his red-clad brother could be a little extreme when it came to deal with _'inconveniences and annoying obstacles' _aka Mikey-most-of the-time… but this wasn't Mikey.

First of all, it was a girl they were talking about, second: that girl was her friend; third: she had an extreme phobia and most importantly: she was still recuperating from her open heart surgery and a scare of that magnitude was unnecessary, not to say dangerous. Crushing on Raph or not, that wasn't the correct way to say _'no thanks, I'm not interested'. _Don knew Leo would be after Raph's shell for the rest of his life… and Mikey's as well.

"… I got him the best gift ever and how does he repay me? With butterflies!"

"C'mon Whoey, stop crying. That hothead is definitely not worthy of your tears" Don soothed Who as she sobbed on his lap "Hmm, you know… I didn't know you liked him _that_ much"

Who sniffled loudly. "To be honest… I didn't know that either…"

"That's… weird" Don muttered while rubbing the girl's head comfortingly. "Since when you realized you had feelings for him?"

"I…" The girl stared blankly at the nothingness. Suddenly the world around her stopped; the pain, the tears, everything had vanished… it was so fast.

"Well?" Don insisted.

"… I… … don't… … know anymore…"

Somewhere in New York City, a pink haired creature cried in defeat; at her feet laid a heart shaped device broken in a half.

"_It's over… she's gone…"_


	12. Chapter 12

When Leo arrived to the lair, he found his dark haired friend sleeping with her teddy bear on her right side and Don on her left side; he mentally thanked Don for helping the distraught girl while he wasn't there. A few minutes later, Mikey and Raph arrived to the lair, none of them wanting to face Leo or Who.

The blue-clad turtle didn't say anything and retired to his room for the night, he'd deal with them tomorrow. He couldn't blame Raphael or Michelangelo, not like he wished to but they would have their punishment though he knew no punishment in the world would bring his friend's heart back.

The next morning, Leo and Don were the first ones in the kitchen. They both greeted each other and prepared some tea and coffee for themselves while sitting at the table not talking or even blinking.

"I guess Who already told you what happened" Leo started.

"I knew Raph could be stupid sometimes but…I can't even describe how I'm feeling right now" Don sighed, running a hand across his face.

Mikey peeked into the kitchen, his red-clad brother right behind him. Leo and Don saw them but decided to ignore them and avoid conversation; it was just too early in the morning for a lecture anyways. Mikey gulped loudly before approaching to his eldest brother.

"Leo, I know you're like… really mad at us but… we'll apologize to her once she wakes up and we'll make it up to her somehow. We promise"

"We? Speak for yourself, shell-for-brains" Raph scowled "She should've let me know how she felt so I could've made some sense into her mind"

"We both knew that prank was stupid" Mikey argued.

"Yet you agreed to do it too and you were laughing out loud! So don't think I'm the only one to blame here" Raph argued back.

"At least I regret what I did!"

"Enough!" Don interrupted them "Raph, just like Mikey, you'll apologize and you better pray she believes in you again"

"Oh, now the genius is threatening me~" Raph scoffed "And c'mon! Sure, she was scared but it wasn't so bad!"

"It was not a threat, Raph and you certainly have no idea how bad you hurt her yesterday!"

"Morning" Everyone's attention turned to the black and white dressed girl joining them in the kitchen.

"Uh… h-hi Whoey. How you feeling?" Mikey asked.

"Good. What's for breakfast?"

"Uhmm… pancakes"

"I'll just grab an apple. I'm late for rehearsals" the girl said opening the fridge.

Leo sent a visual sign, indicating his siblings now it was the perfect time for an apology. Mikey cleared his throat before start talking. "Who, about yesterday… we, uh…"

"Aww to hell with this… we're sorry, ok?" Raph blurted out "What we… well, more like: what _I_ did yesterday was retarded and…"

Who blinked. "I… don't know what you're saying but can we talk about it later? Seriously, I'm late!"

The girl grabbed her bag and ran towards the exit, leaving the four turtles dumbfounded.

Mikey looked at the girl while she left and then at his brothers. "That went well?"

…

* * *

><p>"No, no no!"<p>

The pianist stopped playing and Who stopped singing "What is it, coach?"

"I don't know what is going on with you today but your voice today sounds… how can I say it? Oh yeah… INSIPID!"

Who frowned. "I sang this song two days ago and you said it was…"

"I know what I said; but I can't feel anything today! It's like I'm listening to some amateur with no sense of what perfection is! I demand perfection in my choir, darling, you know that"

"Apologies, coach. I… I guess I'm not feeling very well" the girl said lowering her head.

"Nevermind, we'll try tomorrow. Be sure to get some rest"

While the others left the room, Who looked at herself in the mirror; something wasn't right, she felt… weird… empty. But why?

"What's the matter, _nightingale_~? Your voice's finally giving up?"

Who sighed in annoyance. "Not in the mood, Frida"

"Why so blue? Can't you tell your friend Frida what's bothering you?" the green eyed girl purred evilly.

"I could but I won't. Spoiler alert: we're not friends" Who replied while organizing her music sheets.

"Some girls saw you at the V-day carnival with a mysterious guy…" Frida continued "…was it your boyfriend?"

"I don't know what you're talking about" The dark haired girl grabbed her bag and made her way out of the room.

"So it_ was_ your boyfriend! Did he dump you and that's why you're so sad?" Frida chuckled.

Who glared at her and opened her mouth but closed it, for some reason… she didn't have a good comeback. And that was weird. "Just… shut up, Frida" she sighed in defeat as she slammed the door.

"_What's happening to me?" _Who asked herself mentally while dialing a number "Donnie? Can you pick me up, please? … … yeah same place, same hour… … Thanks"

…

* * *

><p>"Ok, this should do"<p>

"I can't believe I'm doing this" Raph sighed.

"Hey, it's the last we can do after what happened" Mikey said "Besides, she didn't look so upset this morning so she'll probably forgive us in no time!"

The lair's door opened revealing a purpled clad turtle and a dark haired girl; the whole place was pitch black.

"Looks like Mikey messed up the electrical system… again" Don commented.

"Ok, one… two… three…" Mikey gave the signal and Raph turned on the lights "SURPRISE!"

Who's eyes opened wide at the sight of balloons and streamers everywhere. "What the shell?"

"Surprised you, didn't we?" Mikey elbowed her.

"Yeh… and why exactly am I being 'surprised'?" Who asked arching a brow.

"Just a little thing to say we're sorry, that's all" Raph shrugged.

"You know, that stupid prank. Don't you remember?" Don asked. Who shook her head negatively.

"It happened yesterday!" Raph replied a little exasperated.

"Look, I don't know what game you're trying to get me to go along with but I'm bushed. If you'll excuse me I'm going to take a shower" With this, she walked towards her room.

"I can't believe she doesn't remember" Raph commented.

"You think she could be faking? Like she did when I tried to pull that soda prank?" Mikey said.

"I don't think she's faking it" Don said.

"What do you mean?" Raph and Mikey asked in unison. Don took a deep breath and started talking.

…

_**2 Hours ago**_

_The hauler arrived on time to pick up Who; she was welcomed by a fully clothed Don. Even though the place wasn't crowded, he had decided to go in his "human disguise" just in case. _

"_Hi, how did the rehearsals go?"_

"_My vocal coach said my voice sounded insipid today" she said. _

"_Oh… well, everybody has a bad day sometimes. You'll do it better tomorrow" Don smiled at her sympathetically. _

_Who shrugged. "Yeah, sure" _

"_Something else is bothering you… is about Raph, isn't it?" _

"_Huh?"_

_"I know what he did was stupid but you shouldn't let that affect you" Don said. _

"_Don, I don't know what are you talking about" _

_Don looked at her quizzically."But… yesterday you… he…"_

"_Donnie, are you ok?" Who asked worriedly. _

"_You're saying you don't remember the prank Mikey and Raph pulled on you?" Don insisted._

_Who narrowed eyes."If Mikey or Raph tried to pull a prank on me, they would be bruised and their arms broken by now and this morning they looked perfectly fine to me"_

…

"She should have remembered something of that magnitude, but she seems completely oblivious that it ever happened" Don commented once he finished.

"That's impossible. No one can forget something so easily" Mikey said thoughtfully.

"She also told me she wasn't feeling like herself today… she felt empty while singing which made her song sound bad"

"Now I get why she looked so frustrated" Mikey sighed.

"This makes me think that even if she doesn't remember what you did yesterday, it still affected her" Don stated.

"Great… now Fearless will never leave us alone" Raph whined, slumping in the couch.

"Wait… if she doesn't remember it that means we have nothing to apologize for! OW!" Mikey cried while feeling Don's bo staff hard on his head "What are you now? Splinter: the sequel? Oh wait… that's Leo"

"Speaking of Leo… where is he anyway?" Raph asked.

"April needed help organizing some Japanese old books and Leo's the expert on that stuff" Don informed. Little did he know that his blue-clad brother was already back home, locked in his room and listening to his youngest siblings' conversation.

Leo slumped in his bed sighing heavily; he knew the truth about Who's behavior and it pained him not being able to tell the others the real reason why his friend was acting like that. Cupid hadn't called him since yesterday which meant she didn't have solutions either. He was about to delete her number when his cell phone registered an incoming message.

"_Meet me at the museum in 15 minutes-Cupid"_

…

* * *

><p>Cupid paced in front the museum like a caged lion. She hoped Leo had received her message and actually came to meet her; after the whole fiasco yesterday, she knew he was going to be angry at her but she had to try.<p>

"This better be good, Cupid. I don't have all day"

Cupid turned around and smiled at the black suited figure."I'm glad you're here"

"Make it quick" Leo said dryly.

"I told my dad about what happened yesterday and he told me a victim of a broken heart can only be restored with the arrival of a new love. We have to find her another person to love and her heart will return… even if she feels love for him just an instant, it'll be enough. If not, she will stay in her current state forever. Never able to love or feel again" Cupid explained.

"Did you just say 'we'?" Leo arched a brow. Cupid nodded earnestly.

"I must have lost it already" Leo muttered "So, what's your plan now?"

"There's still one person I haven't shot yet… and I know he'll be perfect" Cupid smirked pulling out an arrow. Leo's eyes widened when he saw the tip of the arrow pointing at him.

"Shell…"

* * *

><p>All credit goes to my lil angel: <strong>T-girl<strong>

Without her, this chapter wouldn't be here now~

Thanks everyone for your reviews *hug you all*


	13. Chapter 13

Who let out a long sigh in exasperation; she turned off her stereo and slumped in her bed staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Still having problems with that song?" Don's voice came from the doorframe. The girl nodded.

Don grabbed a chair and sat beside her. "Wanna talk about it?"

"I do remember reading and analyzing this song before but now I listened to it again and... I can't feel anything" Who said "And that's not all; I've been listening to different types of music the whole day and it's the same. All I hear is… just words… and even the instruments sound different"

"_Now that's odd" _Don thought "Don't stress out. Let's start from the beginning; this contest you signed in for... you're singing MJ's songs, right?"

"Correct"

"How many songs are _you_ going to sing?"

The dark haired girl handed Don a folder full of musical sheets for MJ's _You're not alone, Gone too soon and Human Nature. _"I've been practising Human Nature for the contest and I used to love it but now it's driving me insane"

"_More like 'pacifically insane' to me" _Don said mentally as he looked at her speaking so calmly _"She usually freaks out when there's something wrong with her music"_

Who sighed. "If I don't get that song ready in five days, the coach will give it to Frida; then I'll just have to sing another thing and I can't let that happen. I can't let her win!"

"Why don't you sing it now so I can tell you what I think?" Don suggested.

"Alright… but not here" Who said as she left the bed.

"Then, where?"

"Follow me"

…

* * *

><p>"C'mon don't be a chicken! It doesn't hurt"<p>

"That's not the problem"

Cupid's persecution after an evasive Leo had taken her to the sewer tunnels. Her skills as archer had been tested to the limit as she tried to shot the blue-clad ninja but the latter's ninja reflexes were almost impossible to beat. They finally stopped running due the tiredness, Leo still keeping a safe distance from Cupid.

"Leo, please… you know you're the only one who can help her now" Cupid said while panting.

"She's my friend!" Leo replied "I can't pretend I… it… it'd be weird… and… and…"

"You want her to stay heartless forever?"

"Hey, I didn't put her under a love spell in the first place" Leo argued.

"Yeah, well… you called me and made me come here and help her. It's your fault too!" Cupid argued back.

Leo sighed. "Ok, we're even"

"Now, stay still" Cupid said, aiming the arrow at Leo once again.

"Hold it! I never said yes!" Leo protested.

"_So, here's where you come when you need to practice?"_

"_It's quiet and peaceful"_

The sound of the familiar voices alerted Leo who motioned Cupid to hide. The silhouettes of the purple-clad turtle and the dark haired girl became clearly visible as they stepped into a dead end tunnel.

"_What are Who and Don doing here?" _Leo thought.

Don turned on the portable stereo "Ok, you can start singing now"

Taking a deep breath, Who began to sing…

_Looking out across the night-time  
>The city winks a sleepless eye<br>Hear his voice shake my window  
>Sweet seducing sighs<em>

_Get me out into the night-time  
>Four walls won't hold me tonight<br>If this town is just an apple  
>Then let me take a bite<em>

_If they say, why, why? Tell 'em that is human nature  
>Why, why does he… <em>

The girl sighed and turned off the stereo. "It's not working Donnie… I still can't feel it!"

"You sure you don't need to rest or something?" Don asked.

"What she needs is someone willing to take an arrow for her" Cupid whispered. Leo glared at her and continued listening to the conversation.

"Well, here's my opinion: first of all, when I hear that song it relaxes me. Second: the line _'why, why, does he do me that way'_ could be addressing the human race, or humanity. Why does humanity do me that way? Because it's human nature. That would make sense if the song was more geared towards Michael's real life, that everyone loved him and wanted a piece of him. Even though he was just a human and not a God as some people played him out to be, it's human nature to love someone so much like that. The song could also be addressing a girl, and the _'does he do me that way,'_ could be her inner thoughts. It could be his desire to get out into the city and be like everyone else and find girls and enjoy life, hence "human nature"…"

The sword wielder was very impressed; he was totally unaware of this side of his genius brother but then again, Don was the genius after all.

"Leo, c'mon!" Cupid's voice brought him back to Earth.

"I'm not doing it!" he hissed.

On the other hand, there was someone else how was thrilled with Don's statement; Who stared at the genius turtle in astonishment. "Wow… I didn't know you were into music"

"I might love technology and science but I have a spot for music as well" Don chuckled "In fact, everyone in the world should save at least a little spot for music in their lives"

Cupid's patience had come to its end; she knew Leo was ignoring her on purpose. Now she was going to take that attention back. "Alright, you leave me no choice"

All the sudden, Leo felt the prick of something sharp on his shoulder "OW! WHAT THE…"

Cupid forcefully turned the blue-clad turtle's face so he was staring at the black and white dressed girl. "Well?"

"First of all: _Ow_, that _did _hurt!" Leo replied while rubbing the sore spot "Second, what am I supposed to feel?"

"Did you even look at her?" Cupid asked.

"Yes but… I don't feel different" Leo answered.

"Something's not right… you should be running after her like crazy after that" Cupid said rubbing her chin "Maybe one more"

"No, that's enough arrows for today" Leo stated firmly. No way in shell he was going to get shot twice in one night. Meanwhile, Don and Who prepared themselves to leave the tunnel.

"… then it's settled. We'll come here after dinner and we'll continue with this, ok?" Don said.

"But what about your projects?" Who asked.

Don smiled. "I could use a little break from the lab… besides, it'll be nice to spend time with you for a change"

The corner of Who's mouth curled in a small grin "Just be here on time and don't tell the others"

As they started to disappear of sight; a beeping sound echoed in the sewer tunnels alarming Leo. "What's that?"

"I had to get a new tracker since the first one blew up" Cupid pulled out a black and pink device. "Hmm, this is weird. I'm getting a very tiny, weak signal from her. Even so, this good news"

"You think it was because of the arrow?"

"That, I'm not too sure… but we can still save her! I still don't understand is why the spell didn't work on you, though… I'll talk to dad about that" Cupid said.

"So what now?" Leo asked.

Cupid smiled warmly "Sweetie, every guy in the world knows what to do when they like a girl and the fact that you're a talking turtle is no excuse. You're still a teen boy with feelings like everyone else; I'm pretty sure you'll know what to do"

"In case you haven't noticed yet: _this _is _brand new_ territory for_ me!_ How am I going to help her if I have no idea what must I to do?" Leo said feeling desperate.

Cupid thought for a moment. "What about the red head girl who was with you guys at the carnival?"

Leo blinked. "April? What about her?"

…

* * *

><p>The leader paced across the dojo with a frown on his face; of all the missions he had been sent to, this was the toughest and scariest.<p>

This was ridiculous, he was the leader! He always had a plan for every situation… right?

Then, why was he so lost now? And what was he scared about? Now wait a moment… scared? Leonardo?

Yes, yes he was.

After hours and hours of studying his options, Leo let out a sigh of defeat. "I can't ask April… it's embarrassing" he said out loud as he walked outside the room.

"Who you talkin' to?"

The Brooklyn accent of his red-clad brother took Leo for surprise. "N-no one, no one"

Raphael was upside down using the back of his legs to support his weight while he hung from the rail. "Why so jumpy?"

"I'm not jumpy" Leo replied.

Raph narrowed eyes. "Spill, what's wrong?"

"Nothing! And could you please stop doing that? You're going to break your neck or something"

"Pfff… I'm a ninja, Leo" Raph chuckled as he impulsed himself forward. Once in a proper position, he jumped off the second floor landing a few inches near Leo "Don't change the subject and tell me what's eating you"

If Leo was going to ask for help from his most conflictive brother, he had to do it carefully. Without blowing up his cover… and he knew how to do that.

"When you went out with Who you handled the situation quite normally so I wonder, how did you do that? The only friendly interaction we've ever had with women just involves April, Angel, Renet… Joi at the Ninja Tribunal…" Leo listed.

"Don't forget Shredder's little girl, Karai" Raph added.

"If you can consider a sword at your neck as 'friendly interaction'… then yes, she counts too"

"Well, I think it's one of the advantages of going outside frequently…" Raph said with a shrug "…_that_, and television. And before meeting Casey, I used to talk to April when I was angry"

"I thought Don talked to April more than anyone else here" Leo said surprised.

"Their talks were all about boring stuff. I was just curious about women behavior and she's like a mom to us so… wasn't so uncomfortable talking to her about stuff"

"Hmm, nice to know that" Leo said thoughtfully.

"Why you asking that all that stuff?"

"No reason really"

"Right…" Raph folded arms "And why is that I don't believe you?"

"Isn't that Mikey trying to put a spider in your shoulder?" Leo's facial expression remained unreadable.

"WHAT! WHERE! GET IT OFF ME! NOW!" Raph yelled in panic. taking advantage of his brother's distraction, Leo left the lair.

* * *

><p>...<p>

Hi guys! Sorry for the lack of updates.

Not gonna bore you with excuses and more excuses. As some of you have noticed, I decided to make a few changes on this chapter; I'm writing the next one (even though V-day is over but whatever; I don't give a shell. It's still my fic, hah!) and let's just say I have my reasons to make the changes I did here.

Thanks for being patient; you'll be rewarded soon.

Who


	14. Chapter 14

Movie nights without the four messy teenagers in the department weren't the same and with Casey out of the city, April was extremely bored, although she had watched every single movie available. It was 10:25 pm; the turtles would be probably chilling at home now. She had thought of calling them but then again, they could be training or something. The red haired woman stirred her arms and let out a long yawn, she didn't really feel sleepy but even so, she got up from the couch lazily and turned off the TV. Just when she was about to turn off the living room lights, a knock on her window caught her attention.

"_Must be Raph"_ April thought "Just a sec!"

The red haired woman opened the window. To her surprise it was the blue-clad ninja standing in front of her "Leo?"

"Hey April, sorry I didn't call ahead" Leo greeted.

"It's ok; you know you can come here whenever you want. Are you and the others alright?"

"Yeah. Uh, were you going to bed already? I'm so sorry, I'll just…"

"No, no, no! I'm just asking because there's no gang activity tonight I thought you'd be all home, relaxing" April explained.

Leo rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, the others are"

"Is there something bothering you?" April asked worriedly.

Leo motioned for her to take a seat. "I guess Casey told you what happened between Raph and Who that day at the museum, right?"

"Yeah and now that you mention it, tell him that was a very immature joke." April said folding arms "I could expect something like that from Mikey but Raph?"

"Yeah… I know" Leo sighed "Well, after the incident I've been thinking of a way to uhmmm… '_cheer her up_' but without being too obvious or giving her the wrong impression"

"That's really nice, Leo. But why the strict discretion?" April asked.

"I have two reasons: Raph and Mikey. They tease me enough already" Leo said. '_Among other things', _he thought.

"Alright… I remember when mom was sad or having a bad day, dad would write her sonnets and poems. He also tried to sing for her but… let's say music wasn't his strong point" April chuckled at the memory.

Leo rubbed his chin. "I don't think that'd work. Who is not easy to cheer up" _Let alone 'impress'._

The red haired woman smiled knowingly. Something else was going through the turtle's mind, even though he disguised it perfectly, but she was two steps ahead of him. "It's not hard, Leo. Who might be a serious girl but she's a girl nonetheless. Here is what you need to do…"

…

* * *

><p>The next morning, Who got up earlier than usual and prepared herself to go to work, but not before taking a quick look in the kitchen. She was highly surprised when she noticed that Leo was there making <em>her<em> breakfast and offered to drive her to work; she didn't refuse but she found all the attention slightly weird.

Even so, she let it slide.

Later that night, Leonardo asked Who out; there was a new jazz club in town he thought she would love to visit. Since Who's emotions were lost for now, she didn't seem too excited about it but she accepted anyway. Once they arrived to the place, he listened to her as she talked about her problems and how she had been feeling lately. She told him she felt empty and Leo couldn't help but feel guilty. It was his fault his friend was emotionless now and if he didn't fill her heart soon, she would also be heartless.

He wouldn't let that happen, that was for sure.

They got back home late and the dark haired girl thanked Leo for their night out before going into her room without any other words. Leo felt a little disappointed but he wouldn't stop trying.

The next morning, Leo was again waiting for Who in the kitchen with her breakfast ready and a new invitation to go out clubbing.

This time she refused; Who told him about her plans with Donatello for the following 4 days but invited him to come their rehearsals. Leo accepted gladly.

…

Don and Who had gotten closer to each other with the passing of the days, but their relationship was more professional and brother-sisterly-like. Too bad Leo didn't seem to see that.

Something inside him made him feel a little annoyed when she mentioned his brother's name and… had he just said he felt annoyed of Don, his own brother?

That was just wrong.

He decided to ignore that feeling but one day, Leo noticed the tracker activated when the genius and the girl were together. Again, that weird mix of anger and annoyance started to overwhelm him.

What was that odd feeling_?_

Was that… _jealousy_?

…

* * *

><p>The next two days, Leo abandoned the direct attempts of <em>'winning Who's heart'<em> as Cupid called it. Now, he would act like a secret admirer using all his ninja skills; leaving her blue roses, her favorites; leaving her notes and sonnets and other things but only in her work place.

Who, on the other hand, started to think of stalkers and worse things and although she trusted in her skills, she decided she would have to train harder to defend herself and with a very strict trainer.

She knew the perfect person… turtle… for the job, but soon she would regret her decision.

"So, how did I do?" Who asked after beating the shell out of the sandbag.

Raph just shrugged. "Meh, Mikey could do it better"

"Hey!" The youngest turtle protested from across the room.

"I've been practicing for hours! That's all you have to say?"Who replied.

"Doll, I'm just being honest" Raph replied back "Get up and keep punching. Harder this time; maybe now you'll get it right"

"But I'm dead tired!"

"Big deal; get up, now"

Who got up and started to walk away. Don and Mikey had the feeling something bad was going to happen if Raph kept pushing the girl's buttons but they pushed it aside and let it slide. Little did they know they were so right.

"Hey, where are you going?" Raph called. Who turned around and looked at the ninja with an unreadable expression on her face. It wasn't an angry one or a sad one… just… unreadable. It sent shivers down Mikey's spine. Normally she would glare at Raph before saying something but now she was just standing there with a permanent poker face.

"I said I'm tired and I'm going to rest. Just so you know: I need my hands intact for tomorrow morning; I have a concert and I'm not planning on ruining them"

Raph chuckled sarcastically. "Yeah, go ahead… nice excuses, cry baby"

"Raph, that wasn't necessary" Don replied.

"What! Miss whiney-pants here is all zombified" Raph said while smirking and poking Who's arm "Can't even come up with a good comeback"

Just before he could react, the girl's fist stamped hard in the red-clad turtle's stomach making him gasp for air and fall on his knees clutching that area.

"Ow! That's gotta hurt" Mikey winced and giggled.

A beeping sound from Cupid's tracker on his belt, plus the commotion coming from the dojo, alarmed Leo. The blue-clad ninja stared in amazement at the results the device showed him before going into the dojo where he found Raph coughing and gasping for breath and Who leaving the place rapidly.

"Don, Mikey! What happened?"

"Raph just got owned by Who!" Mikey laughed.

"S…s-hut… up!" Raph glared at the prankster.

Just as Leo was about to say something else, his tracker started vibrating. It was Cupid calling him and it sounded urgent. "Uhmm… I'll…go get you some water"

The ninja left the dojo and hid in the bathroom before answering.

"Cupid?"

"_Oh my ghoul! Did you get the signal? I'm surprised she's got 45% so far! What did you do? Let me guess, a romantic date with candle lights and nice food? Oh, you big Romeo~"_A very excited Cupid yelled through the other side of the phone.

"I didn't do anything. She just got angry" Leo said calmly pretty much to Cupid's dismay.

"_Oh… well, too bad"_

"Hey, I thought she couldn't feel anything, how do you explain that?"

"_Remember that tiny signal we received back in the tunnel? All her emotions will start from there. It's up to you to fill the rest"_Cupid explained.

Leo rolled eyes. "Wow, delightful"

"_Uh Leo? I wish I could stay longer but dad is keeping an eye on me since I came back with more questions about your situation. If he discovers this mess, I'll be grounded for the next two millenniums!"_

"It's ok, I'll call you later" Leo hung up and sighed heavily. '_If she only knew how hard this is', _he thought.

Back to the dojo, Raph looked slightly better and breathed normally. Mikey was still making jokes at him and the sai wielder tried his best to not tackle him and beat him unconscious.

"What did you say to her?" Leo asked as he gave Raph a bottle of cold water.

"He called her zombie, hehe" Mikey chuckled.

"Zip it, Mikey" Raph growled "She's just being grumpier than usual. Must be in her period or something"

"Ew! You didn't need to say it out loud" Mikey scrunched up his face in disgust.

While the red and the orange-clad ninjas argued, Leo noticed there was someone missing in the dojo. His heart skipped a beat.

'_Where is Don?' _he asked to himself but for some odd and unexplainable reason, he knew where his genius brother was and that didn't make him happy at all. Leo ignored the calls from his other two siblings the moment he stormed out of the dojo and ran upstairs to Who's room opening the door swiftly. When he found nothing, his anger intensified and rushed towards the lair's entrance. Raph and Mikey could just see how the sword wielder disappeared into the darkness of the sewer tunnels with a frown on his face.

…

* * *

><p>"You know he wasn't being serious; just uh…"<p>

"Stupid? A pain in the butt? A big annoying headache?"

"I was going to say immature but yeah… those ones are good too"

Don had followed Who into the place she practiced her singing and tried to calm her down. He had never seen her get_ that _angry before; it was like she was experiencing anger for the first time in her life and had no idea how to control it.

Oh, he didn't know how right he was; extremely right.

"But let's be honest…" Don continued "…you overreacted a little bit"

"Overreacted?" Who yelled at the top of her lungs while kicking her music stand making the sheets fall down creating a huge mess.

Don took a deep breath before talking again. "First of all: calm down. Second of all: you could have asked for a little break rather than make a scene"

Who huffed and folded arms. "Which side are you on, Donatello? That ain't exactly comforting, let me tell you"

"I_ do_ have a point, though"

"Whatever" The girl sighed and leaned into the wall. The coldness of it made her realize how hot her skin was.

Don didn't know what to do now; sure he dealt with Raph's anger attacks sometimes but this one felt different, it felt uncontrollable and untamable. How was he supposed to help her if he didn't have any idea what else to do! The expert of the subject was Leo but he didn't dare to go back and get him; every time he got closer to him, Leo would react in a weird way… like some little child whose favorite toy had been given to his brother instead of him. He didn't know why, though. With no other ideas, he decided to play his last card.

'_Well, I have nothing to lose. Just hope this works'_ the genius thought before surprising the dark haired girl from behind, pulling close to himself.

Who tensed up automatically. "Uh Don? What are you doing?"

"Back when we were toddlers, Master Splinter used to hug us whenever we felt down or upset and it worked! We felt better right away" Don commented "The other option was petting a cat but since I don't have a cat here for you to pet, I think… _perhaps_… this might work"

"I… think it is" Who said, her tenseness fading away. She leant into the embrace feeling relaxed "Thanks Donnie"

The genius smiled and released the dark haired girl a few seconds later. His cell phone beeped

'_Hmm… 00:01 am. I guess it's time'_

The purple clad ninja walked further into the tunnel and opened a chest he had secretly placed there exclusively this day in particular. Once he pulled out a package, he returned to Who and tapped her shoulder making her turn handed her the gift box wrapped in light blue and purple with a smile on his face.

"Happy birthday"

Who's eyes opened wide; with all the stress and commotion she had forgotten about her birthday. "You… remembered it?"

"Of course! How could I forget it!" Don chuckled. Who took the package and hugged it close.

"But… Leo used to wish me a happy birthday at midnight; he was always the first… why he didn't do it this time?" The girl said with sadness in her voice.

Don's smile dropped, he hated being unable to cheer up people but then: an idea. "I'll tell you what: how about we go out to celebrate when you get back from work" he suggested.

"Uh, Don? It's sunday"

"Uh… right! _'That was just stupid Don'…_" he thought while smiling stupidly "Then we'll have the whole day to do whatever you want! That sounds good for you?"

Just when he finished talking, he found himself being bear-hugged by Who.

"You're a love, you know that?"

The genius turtle blushed and returned the hug. "Oh stop it, you"

They stayed this way long enough for certain blue-clad ninja to find them. Had he arrived a little earlier, he wouldn't have needed an explanation for this and certainly wouldn't feel like exploding right now. He had to run away from that place before something bad happened. Leo got back on his tracks and locked himself in his room once he arrived to the lair. Once in his bed, feeling a little bit calmer, he ran a palm over his face and stared blankly at the ceiling.

"C'mon Leo, pull yourself together! Don's your little brother and Who is your best friend, nothing wrong with that!" the sword wielder said out loud.

Images of himself breaking into the scene before his eyes violently, yelling and acting like some animal protecting its territory clouded his mind; he felt like screaming… he didn't feel like himself anymore… Sighing loudly, Leo sat up and held his head with both hands.

"What's happening to me?"

The blue-clad ninja got rid of his gear and slumped in the bed, surrendering to sleep. Forgotten on his drawer and oblivious to its owner, Leo's cell phone vibrated insistently; the screen showing: _'Who's b-day'_

_..._

_..._

* * *

><p>Update on my b-day! WOOHOO! A gift from me to me and to you! LOL!<p>

And now for the haters…

People sometimes say my fics ain't right… _sorry for Fanfic-writing! _

Family complains saying _'STOP IT, NOW!'_… _sorry for Fanfic-writing! _

Haters don't like I'm QUEEN of this town … _sorry for Fanfic-writing! _

When they talk shit, I just pick a line:

_SORRY FOR FanFic-WRITING!_

Uh-huh~ PARTY TIME, PEOPLE! EVERYBODY DANCE!

Btw… b-day reviews are more than welcome!


	15. Chapter 15

"Ow! Mikey! You're stepping on my foot!" Raph complained.

"Sorry"

"You guys ready?" Don asked in a hushed voice. The other two ninjas nodded. The genius turtle opened Who's door slowly and counted to three in silence before he turned on the lights.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY WHO!" the trio said in unison.

"Hey guys" Who said sleepily "What time is it?"

"6 am" Mikey said while yawning "Now come here, blow the candles and make a wish"

"It's a lovely cake! Aww guys, you shouldn't have…"

"Then we'll eat it for ya" Raph teased.

Who chuckled. "Thanks guys, really"

"Go on! Make a wish!" Mikey urged her.

"What could I possibly ask for? I have a dreamed job, incredible friends…" A meow coming from the floor made Who smile widely "Yes, Klunk… a cute kitty too" she said while picking the orange tabby.

"There must be something else" Don said.

"Well… there is something…" Who said thoughtfully and blew the candles. "Hey, where's Leo?" she asked after looked at her surroundings feeling more awake than a few minutes ago.

"Uhmm, sleeping I guess?" Raph answered.

"Gosh! I forgot to wake him up!" Don facepalmed.

"Don't worry, dudes! I'll…"

"No Mikey, it's ok" Who said grabbing the orange-clad ninja's arm "Leave it that way"

Raph noticed Who's smile had vanished. "Fearless really screwed it up this time" he whispered to Don.

"So… uhmm… wanna go down for breakfast?" Don suggested trying to lighten up the mood.

"Sure"

…

* * *

><p>The turtles and their human friend were having a peaceful breakfast when suddenly…<p>

"Oh gosh, the concert!" Who exclaimed "I'm hella late!"

"I can drive you if you want" Don offered.

"Wont' be necessary, Don" Another voice joined the scene. Everyone turned their attention to the blue-clad ninja standing in the kitchen's doorway "I'll drive her there"

"Don, I'll wait for you in the truck" Who said while standing up "Mikey, can you pack the rest of my breakfast for the road?"

"Sure, b-day girl" Mikey winked at her.

"B-day girl?" Leo asked in puzzlement. Who sighed loudly and abandoned the kitchen without words.

Just when the lair's door closed, realization hit Leo in the face "Oh no… her birthday! Is it today?"

"So, Who was right after all" Don let out a forced chuckle as he walked out the kitchen "You really forgot about it"

Leo stopped his genius brother grabbing his arm tightly. "You have something to tell me?"

"I don't know what's going with you, Leo But whatever it is, it made you forget your best friend's birthday…" Don said snatching his brother's hand off of him "… if you still think of her that way, that is"

"And since when _**you **_started keeping track of her birthday, huh? If I remember well, neither of you knew it; it was _**me**_ who got the information from her personally. Not you, Donatello!"

"Guys, chill out" Raph stood in the middle of both his brothers "What's up with ya, Leo? An April's Fool prank or what?"

"You know what? Whatever!" Don snapped "Who's gonna be late for her concert and if you really want to proceed with this silly argument, either you can wait till I'm back or argue with yourself"

Leo narrowed eyes, giving the genius a half murderous glare. "This is not over, Don!" he yelled as he saw his purple-clad brother disappearing behind the elevator doors.

"Whoa, what the hell was that!" Raph exclaimed.

"Yeah" Mikey chuckled nervously "You feeling ok, dude?"

Once Leo's anger dissipated, he could see the puzzled faces of his brothers. They looked at him in confusion and fear. He knew he had done it again; he had overreacted. He had…

'…_yelled at Donnie. What the hell? Did I just do that?' _the leader asked to himself mentally as he made his way to the living room and slumped in the couch. In that moment, his tracker vibrated. It was a message from Cupid and it sounded urgent. Leo sighed and went back to the kitchen. He needed to clear things up before he left.

"Guys I… I'm sorry for what happened. I need to get some fresh air" With this said, he left the lair leaving Raph and Mikey still confused.

A beep from Raph's cell phone broke the silence; it was a text message. "Havana Glen Park… hmm… seems like April wants to meet us there, all of us"

"Should I call Leo?"

"Nah, here says she already sent us all the same message but personally, I don't think Fearless is gonna show up" Raph stated.

Mikey scratched his head. "What's with him all moody and mad at Donnie-boy?"

"Beats me" Raph shrugged "We better get ready"

…

* * *

><p>Cupid grabbed her tracker and a few items and got up her heart-shaped chair. "Tanis, I'll be back in a few hours"<p>

"But what about your program?" the gargoyle girl said worriedly.

"I called Abbey to replace me" Cupid informed as she walked away.

"BUT…"

"I'll be back soon, I promise. If dad calls, tell him I'm with Draculaura shopping at the maul"

Tanis could just look how the pink haired girl disappeared into the dark catacomb's hallways running as fast as she could.

"What is wrong with girl in pink?" Abbey asked in confusion.

Tanis sighed. "That's exactly what I want to know"

…

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, Cupid arrived to the place she first met Leo. The latter was already waiting there. Before he could say something, Cupid held up her hand to stop him from talking.<p>

"Sit down, please" she said in a serious voice and Leo complied.

"This is the signal I got from Who this morning" Cupid said pulling out her tracker.

"15%!" Leo gasped "But she was 45% till yesterday! What happened?"

"That's exactly what I want to know" the pink haired girl said "What did you do?"

"Don't blame me! It's those stupid arrows fault! I yelled at my brother this morning because of them and that's just the beginning" Leo said, his voice raising in anger "I've changed till the point I can't tolerate seeing Donnie getting close to Who! What kind of spell did you use on me?"

Cupid waited till Leo had calmed down and pulled out two items. "This is the arrow I used on you and this is my bow and, as you can see, it's broken which means all your emotions are not affected by my magic"

The blue-clad ninja looked at her in confusion. Cupid continued explaining "What you feel is real, Leo… all your feelings! And that intolerance how you call it? I's jealousy"

"Can't be"

"You're in denial… that blinds you and doesn't make you see your jealousy is affecting the ones you care for" the bone-winged girl added "Your brother, Who… you're hurting them, Leo. And it's not my arrows' fault"

"Saying I'm_ 'jealous_' is saying I feel something for Who and that's not true! She's just a friend… she'll be always a friend" Leo replied.

"Leo, please… listen to me" Cupid said almost begging "You must learn to control yourself before you end up doing something you'll regret"

"I wouldn't hurt my family, Cupid; not for some stupid and imaginary jealousy episode you say I'm experimenting which is not real!"

"Yet you yelled at your brother… isn't that true?"

Leo didn't reply back; Cupid was right. He had to accept he was jealous, as hard as that was. The ninja stiffened when he felt Cupid's hand on his shoulder.

"When we met, I saw a calm and pacific guy" she started "You have to bring him back or else… you know what will happen to Who"

Leo felt the hand leaving his shoulder and the sound of Cupid's heels as she walked away and disappeared from his sight.

…

* * *

><p>The genius had been driving for hours and the road started to look very unfamiliar to him. Who motioned him to park near some bushes and right after he did so, she began to walk at the tree's direction. Don followed her for a while but he got tired of the silence and mysteriousness of the situation and stopped.<p>

"Who, I'm not continuing till you tell me where are we going right now. Because, obviously, this doesn't look exactly like a place for a concert" Just when the genius stopped talking, a new voice could be heard from behind him.

"Don? Who?"

The bo wielder looked at his brother questioningly. "Raph?"

"Whoa, this is freaky" Another voice said.

"Mikey? What are you guys doing here?" Don was getting more confused by the second. Who looked at the turtles and giggled.

"Alright doll, what the hell's going on?" Raph asked, folding arms.

"I wanted to have a little picnic with you guys for my birthday but it had to be a surprise so… good thing my birthday is also April's Fool! I got you all!"

"Oh, you sneaky lil witch" Raph smirked.

"Where's Leo?" Who asked. Don's face changed when she mentioned his brother's name; he was still mad at him and would be till he got an explanation and an apology.

"He, uh… he wasn't feeling good so he went out for a run" Raph said. Who's smile dropped again.

"So… where's the food! I'm hungry~" Mikey said, poking the girl in the ribs where her ticklish spot was making her chuckle.

…

…

The turtle trio and Who had a blast at the park; some music, a pizza and cake war and an improvised photo session. They all gave her gifts and made her feel especial and loved.

Cupid's tracker registered a 10% improvement. To her, 25% was not a good sign; the process of filling her heart again was terribly slow and her father had begun to suspect about this normie.

What was making things so difficult?

She hoped her talk with the blue-clad ninja had made some sense into him and also made him reconsider his actions. April 1st was about to come to its end…

"He better have something nice prepared for her…" Cupid hoped. Little did she know, her words had fallen on deaf ears.

…

* * *

><p><em><strong>The turtles' lair <strong>_

_**11:56 pm**_

"I'm dead tired" Mikey yawned loudly "Night guys!"

"Same here; see ya tomorrow" Raph joined him and went to his room just like Mikey did.

"Bye Mikey, bye Raph" Who waved at them.

Don stirred his arms lazily and made his way upstairs. "Night Who"

"Donnie, wait" the girl stopped him before he could reach the stairs and hugged him. "Thanks for the best birthday ever"

"Anytime, sis" The genius smiled warmly and hugged her back. "You better go to bed now. You have that audition tomorrow"

The girl broke the embrace and gave Don a small peck on his forehead. In the shadows, Leonardo observed everything. His anger increased but Cupid's words resounded inside his head making him calm down.

"Hey, Who… Donnie" he greeted them as he walked downstairs.

"Look who decided to show up at last" the girl looked at the sword wielder in annoyance.

"I'm sorry I didn't get your message. I…"

"Look, I had the best day of my life and I'm not planning to end it arguing with someone that forgot his best friend's birthday!" Who said bitterly.

"Who, calm down" Don intervened "Leo, go to bed. It's pretty late for an argument and… she's right"

"I said I was sorry!"

Who walked past him and towards her room. "Not sorry enough"

"Oh, so you get one year older but you haven't matured yet?" Leo hissed.

That hit Who like a ton of bricks. Again, that slightly sharp pain in her chest and coldness took over her body. She didn't answer back and got inside her room, closing the door softly.

Leo's narrowed eyes widened slowly as he repeated his venomous words in his mind. "I… I didn't mean to say that! I… I…"

"What is wrong with you?" Don's voice came out almost as a whisper.

Leonardo looked at his little brother; his eyes were clouded by tears unwilling to come out._ 'What have I done'_

"Don, you have to believe me! I didn't mean to say that! It just… it just…"

"Who are you and where is my brother?" Don managed to say before he turned around and walked upstairs. A hand grabbing his made the genius stop.

"Donnie, please… I'm sorry" Leo begged.

"You're not Leo… so I can't forgive you" the bo wielder gave him a watery gaze "If you see Leo, _my Leo,_ then tell him to come back. We miss him…"

Don felt his brother's hand slowly releasing his.

"…_I_ miss him" the genius ended and ran to his room locking himself inside.

In some part of the world, Cupid's tracker beeped insistently. The pink haired girl looked at it and let out a gasp. "No, no, no! Leo… what have you done!"

In the screen, you could see the final result:

**0%**


	16. Chapter 16

It was not like Raph to get up early in the morning but noises coming from downstairs had interrupted his sleep and now the sai wielder found himself unable to get back to dreamland. He had a pretty good idea of who could be awake so early and that annoyed him. After scrubbing his face, he jumped off his hammock and put on his gear and mask. The red-clad ninja abandoned his room and jumped from the second floor landing on all fours.

Raph found the dojo's door wide open so he had a clear sight of who was in there causing all that noise. His guess was correct: it was Leo. But what truly surprised him was the scenario before his eyes. The sword wielder punched and kicked the punching bag mercilessly; big drops of sweat ran down his face soaking his blue mask. His swords rested in the floor beside the practice dummy which had been stabbed repeatedly. Raphael stared silently at this scene in shock. Leo punched the bag hard one last time before falling to his knees, panting and sweating. Tentatively, Raph stepped inside and walked towards his brother; he got no reaction. Leo just stayed there staring at the floor till Raph finally broke the silence.

"You know that punching bag is mine, don't you?"

"So?" Leo replied, his gaze focused on the dojo mats.

"_So?_ S' not like you to come here at 5 am in the morning and beat the crap outta my bag. That's my job" Raph said. Leo slowly stood up just to sit down again in another corner of the room. He took off his mask; it was then when Raph noticed the dark circles under Leo's eyes.

"Did get any sleep last night, bro?" Raph asked but Leonardo didn't answer.

The red-clad ninja knelt in front of the leader and waved his hand in front of him. "Earth to Leo~ Quit the zombie act, bro; you're scaring me!"

"I'm so stupid" Leo sighed heavily.

"And you _just now_ realized that?" Leo's murderous glare stopped Raph from making more jokes.

"I'm kidding. C'mon, tell me what's eatin' ya" Raph chuckled placing a hand on Leo's shoulder but the latter slapped the hand away.

"Since when have you started to care about me and my problems?"

Raph stared at Leo's crouched form, then at his hand that had been pushed away, then back at his brother. "Gee, and I thought Who was the only one pms-ing around here"

The red-clad ninja was about to leave but another hand grabbed his wrist tightly but not tight enough to cause pain.

"I'm sorry, Raph… I…"Leo's voice came out in a whisper. Only the silence in the room allowed Raph to listen to his brother's request. "Please, don't…"

Leonardo now looked like a child afraid of being left alone in the dark and had taken possession of Raph's wrist in an attempt to make him stay there. He had already been abandoned by his genius brother and his best friend because of his venomous tongue and lack of thinking last night; he didn't want to repeat that again. Not with Raph and Mikey.

"Please… don't leave" Dark brown eyes met amber ones in a tired and pleading gaze.

Raph took a better glance of Leo's condition. '_Shell, he's worse than I thought… ain't a good sign' _His eyes showed tiredness and moisture; he didn't know if it was because of the sweat… or perhaps he had been crying? Raph wasn't going to ask that; it could embarrass Leo and right now, his brother wasn't in the mood.

"Listen Leo, I ain't leaving, k?" Raph assured him; he felt his wrist being freed. Leo gave him a sad, brief smile in thanks, his eyes downcast again.

Raphael sat beside him in silence for a moment; he could hear Mikey's loud yawn from outside and his lazy steps going downstairs and to the kitchen. The red-clad ninja knew he would need some extra help if he wanted to cheer Leo up and who better than his youngest brother to help him with this task.

"C'mon bro, let's get you some breakfast before you tell me why you're depressed"

Leo let himself being put on his feet by Raph and followed him outside the dojo; he didn't ever bother to put his mask on his face or get his swords back. When he arrived to the kitchen he didn't answer Mikey's cheerful morning greeting like he used to, he also heard Mikey asking him if he was feeling ok and Raph answering for him. Perhaps exhaustion had deprived him from words. Once he had eaten, his mind seemed to have clarified. Now Leo could see without blurriness and actually articulate some words; his moves were also less sloppy. Yes, it was exhaustion the one to blame here. Both physical and psychological.

"Feeling better?" Raph asked.

Leo tilted his head to the side. "A little"

"So… why you're feeling blue?" Mikey asked "Uh… no pun intended, by the way"

The sword wielder sighed. "Last night, instead of apologizing to Who for forgetting her birthday; I ended up arguing with her and Donnie. Now they both hate me but… that's not the main problem"

"Dude, what can be worse than that?" Mikey chuckled. Raph raised his fist threateningly but deep inside him thanked Mikey for asking that. He was also curious about that 'main problem' Leo had mentioned.

"It's… a little hard to explain" Leo said simply "Just leave it that way"

Now that was a disappointing answer that lead to even more questions but now, the task at hand was to make the leader snap out of his emo-like state.

"Leo, you're not the kind of guy that gives up after the first try" Raph said "It ain't too late to do something nice for her"

"And Donnie could never hate you, bro" Mikey seconded.

"Yeah, lil' brainiac couldn't hate this crappy world if he wanted; that ain't his nature" the hothead added. In that moment, Donatello appeared into the kitchen heading directly to the fridge.

"Morning Raph, Mikey" the genius greeted while grabbing some juice. Leo waited for his name to be mentioned but this didn't happen. Don had finished his juice and was now leaving the room and yet… nothing.

"Donnie?" Leo called shyly expecting a reaction. To his disappointment, he didn't get any. Don had left the room without any other words.

"O…k? That was unexpected" Mikey commented. Whatever they had said about Donatello not being a hater had been now buried six feet under.

Leo let out a long sigh before standing up and placing the dishes in the sink. He was about to leave the place when he felt Raphael's hand on his shoulder stopping him.

"Want me to talk to Donnie-boy?"

"No, it's ok. I'll be alright, Raph. I promise" Leo said offering both his brothers a tiny smile.

Raph let go of his brother. "If you need to talk, we'll be in the dojo ok?"

Leo nodded and made his way upstairs disappearing inside his room.

…

* * *

><p>Later on, Don and Who arrived to the latter's workplace. Some guys and young girls were there as well, all talking excitedly and wearing their best outfits; it almost looked like some elite award ceremony. Some of them were singing bits of songs, others were practicing their choreographies,<p>

"Auditions sure look tough this year" Who commented.

"You sure you want to do this?" Don asked.

The girl sighed. "I don't have much of a choice, Don. Today is the day and ready or not, I must do it"

"Well, take it easy and don't worry whatever the results are… we'll be there for you" the genius smiled reassuringly "Good luck!"

"Thanks" With this said, Who came out of the hauler and waved Don good bye as he drove away from the place.

The dark haired girl greeted some friends who had auditioned already; they looked quite happy with their results. Who smiled at her friends and congratulated them but it was all forced; with no emotions inside her, it was quite difficult to show happiness. When Who walked inside the auditorium, she saw her rival, Frida, auditioning with one of the songs she was going to sing. Her performance was flawless and so was her voice; something that Who could actually feel was the passion Frida expressed in the song.

Once she was done, everyone clapped and cheered for her. That was going to be hard to beat.

"Excellent performance, Frida! It was truly amazing!" one of the judges exclaimed while clapping.

"Thank you" Frida bowed graciously and a bit smugly. Who took a deep breath and walked towards the platform.

Frida smirked evilly. "Oh, look who decided to show up at last~"

"Morning Frida" Who greeted her avoid the girl's green eyed gaze.

"You look terrible…" Frida scowled "…then again, that's how you always look, don't you?"

The dark haired girl ignored her; Frida let out a little growl, she hated being ignored and especially by her rival. The green eyed girl made a last attempt to get on Who's nerves.

"Just so you know, my performance was marvelous" Frida purred while pacing around Who "Don't be surprised if you don't get to sing Michael's songs for the competition"

Who didn't even flinch; sure she had heard that viper's words and had seen the smugness in her eyes but that didn't affect her. Thanks goodness the dark haired girl was emotionless; otherwise Frida wouldn't have been so lucky. Who took position in the center of the platform and waited for all the voices to be silenced; once the place was as quiet as a cemetery, the judges talked.

"Well, my dear. Show us what you got"

…

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later that night…<strong>_

Walking back from work to the lair had never been so creepy before but today, it was an exception. Ever since she finished with her performance at the audition Who felt the presence of someone in the room staring at her and all her moves like a hawk; Who was sure of that. Since her childhood, she could tell when she was being stared at; she could feel the eyes of people without even looking at them, that's how she knew someone was paying some extra attention to her, that scared her.

From that moment till she left her workplace, that mysterious staring never ceased; Who couldn't wait to get back home.

Some hours later, the elevator's door opened allowing a feminine figure to access into the lair. The turtles were all in their own business: Raph, in the couch watching the news; Mikey re-organizing his comic book stash and Don reading a book silently. Leo was nowhere to be found so the girl suspected he could be in his room or outside. She didn't want to interrupt the guys so very stealthy, Who made her way to the stairs. But perhaps, she hadn't been stealthy enough; she knew that because by the time she had reached the stairs, she felt herself being lifted by strong arms and being spun in circles by a very excited Mikey.

"Look who's here! Our faaavorite Jackson girl! Tell me tell me tell me, you so gotta tell me! TELL ME!"

"Easy knucklehead; let the girl breathe!" Raph chuckled.

"Hi Mikey, sup Raph"

"You're here? Why you didn't call me? I could've picked you up" Don said joining the scene.

"I…"

"Forget about that" Mikey blurted out "You gotta tell me how did it go… NOW!"

"I passed but…"

"WOOHOO! Way to go!" the youngest yelled hugging Who tightly.

"But guys, I… "

"Did I mention I love you soooo much?"

"Whoa, careful there Mikey. Don't want genius biting your head off for flirting with his girl" Raph teased.

"Uh, guys…?"

"Very funny Raph" Don said narrowing eyes and then turning to the girl "Congrats Who. You really worked hard for this"

"So, what did that horrible Frida do? Did she cry? Did she make a scene? Did someone film it? Can I watch on YouTube? Man, I'm so hyped up!"

"Mikey, calm down!"

"I think the knucklehead drank your coffee Donnie-boy"

"If you guys are done there's something you must know…" Who took a deep breath and continued "…I passed but I didn't get the MJ act. Frida did"

The excitement of a few minutes ago vanished and an awkward silence took over the place. Behind his room's door, Leonardo listened to the whole conversation; guilt was eating him alive and this news weren't so comforting either.

"I… er… I-I bet she wasn't _that_ good" Mikey said trying to sound positive.

"She was" Who replied and began to make her way towards the elevator's door once again "I'll be at April's place, the roof, to be precise. I'll call if something happens"

"I'll go with you" Don suggested following the girl closer. Who stopped him.

"I'm fine Don, really. Oh and thanks for helping me with the songs"

"I'm afraid I wasn't much of a help. I'm sorry"

Who shook her head. "It's not your fault"

"You sure you don't need company?" Don insisted.

"I'll be alright" Last thing the turtles saw before the elevator's door closed was Who's slightly pale and emotionless facade.


	17. Chapter 17

Meanwhile in MH's institute's catacombs, calls and messages didn't stop arriving to Cupid's radio station; the pink haired girl and her gargoyle friend worked non-stop till DJ Hyde's moment came. Tanis had left the studio to get some snacks; it was the perfect moment for Cupid to make a very necessary call.

"Hey darling, how did it go? … … mmhmm… … …mmhmm… Uhhh, I see" a small frown appeared in Cupid's face, she certainly hated bad news. "But that can be solved, right?"

The positive replied form her phone made the bone-winged girl smile again. "Really? That's perfect! Uh, sorry I have another call; probably dad. Just do your thing and thanks again, lovely. You're amazing"

"Hello~" Cupid's happiness was again replaced with anger when she recognized the voice on the other side of the line "Oh… it's just you_._ What do you want now?"

"_Cupid, I know you probably don't want to see me. I know I messed up; I'm not asking for forgiveness or anything I just … I thought we could talk…just that. But if you're busy… " _

The pain and guilt in that voice really broke the young goddess' heart. Sure she was still mad at him but she couldn't turn her back to Leonardo, even if he hadn't paid attention to her advices. Besides, it was because of her this whole drama had begun and if her father knew about it, she could say good bye to everything she knew and loved… including her radio show.

"You know what? This may be a weird coincidence but I was about to call you for uhmmm… well, I'll tell you later… … … … … … no, no I can't explain here just… … … … alright, same place then. See you there"

…

* * *

><p>Later on, Cupid and Leonardo met in Central Park by the lake. The young goddess gave him the bad news: there was nothing else that he could do, Leo had lost his chance. Leonardo had feared this the most but he did not have any right to say something anymore, he had failed and he had to accept it. Trying to avoid the theme, Leo changed the topic of their conversation, telling Cupid what happened in Who's audition and how miserable his friend looked even though she was emotionless. To Leo's surprise, the pink haired girl revealed him her little secret.<p>

"Don't worry, a friend of mine was there and told me that already"

"Really?" Leo gasped in surprise "Wow, you're always a step ahead of me huh?"

"You know me, darling" Cupid chuckled. "She's already on her way to help your friend. She's got the music running wild through her veins just like her daddy, Erik… though normies know him as The Phantom"

Leonardo almost chocked with his own spit. "The _Phantom_? As in _Phantom _of the_ Opera_?" he managed to say.

"That's him"

"But it's… I… it's not…"

"Don't panic!" Cupid interrupted him "I know normies think Erik is evil… aaaand the mask makes him look creepy… but he's a great musician and so is his daughter. In fact, I have the feeling your Who and Erik's daughter are going to become good friends"

"What I was going to say is that your oh-so-great '_Phantom' _doesn't exist!"

Cupid gave him a surprised and slight offended look, her pinkish colored mouth wide opened in shock. "You…have been hanging out… with me for almost a month and you say Erik is not real?"

"Alright, alright… you've got a point" Leo palm heeled his face. It was hard for him to remember he was now aware of this, somehow, parallel universe where monsters actually existed. And speaking about monsters… "But Cupid… all your kind, your friends, they're all… monsters, right?"

"Yep"

"Well then, you _do_ realize Who's going to freak out when _**The **_Phantom's daughter…"

Leo's speech was interrupted again by the sound of a cell phone ringing; it was Cupid's. The young goddess held up her hand to stop Leo from talking as she answered.

"Hello? … … … … Yeah I know, Tanis. Tell Holt to keep playing records, k? I'll be there in a few" Cupid hung up and sighed heavily.

As if predicted, a black and hot pink car with a pinkish gothic Lolita vampire behind the wheel appeared; no doubt that was Draculaura. The vampire girl waved at Cupid who turned around a looked sadly at Leo. "I must go back, sorry"

"Cupid, we're not done! You have to…" Leo tried to grab her hand but Cupid was already on the run.

"DON'T WORRY, SHE'LL BE FINE!" The pink haired girl yelled as she jumped into the car.

Draculaura hit the accelerator and the car disappeared from sight before Leo could even start chasing it and the sword wielder ninja found himself utterly alone, yelling to the cold wind.

"CUPID WAIT! YOU NEVER TOLD ME WHO'S THIS GIRL YOU SENT!"

…

* * *

><p>After hours of singing and getting disappointing results, Who became exhausted; she gulped down 2 bottles of water in less than an hour, it was more out of frustration than tiredness, and then sat in the rooftop's border. Something wasn't right; ever since she argued with Leonardo, things had been going from bad to worst but that didn't make sense… did it? And why did she felt so empty and cold in the inside? She couldn't even rant to let out some steam; what was going on?<p>

…

And why she still felt she was being watched?

…

The platform shoes clicked into the cold surface of the roof. That confirmed her thoughts… or just made them get worse. She was not only being watched: she had been followed.

"Heya, sweetheart" A New Orleans accented voice came from behind Who; not so far yet no so close.

The dark haired girl turned around to meet the one she believed her 'stalker' but she found out something different. The figure before her had a black cloak with a very intricate, silver staff pattern at the end of the long cloak's skirt and sleeves; by judging how the dark belt molded the figure's slim waist Who could tell this was a girl. The girl's face was covered by a black hood and only a silver sparkle could be seen in the left side of, which was supposed to be, the girl's face.

Emotionless, Who stared at her for a moment before talking. "Who are you?"

The mysterious girl smirked, her red lips barely visible. "Justa friend. Whya look so glum gal?"

"I'm not glum. I'm just… I don't know"

The figure came closer. "Ya were singin'huh? C'mon, lemme hear ya sing again"

"I'm sorry but I don't know who you are… and I'm not in the mood for singing" The dark haired girl decided to simply ignore this weirdo. To his disgrace, the _'weirdo' _would not leave so easily.

"Ya know what da problem is? Dere's somethin' inside your head dat makes your little ol' heart feel bad which makes everythin' ya sing sound as happy as the Moonlight sonata" the cloaked figure explain "Just like in your audition"

"_So she was the one staring at me, the presence I felt! I was right!" _Who though.

"An' that Frida gal? She's all hat and no cattle if ya ask me…" the figure now placed her hands on her waist "… thinkin' she's da queen of music or somethin'. If I had her in front of me, I'd let her now mah music can whoop y'all's music!"

Who sighed. "But Frida's _diva attitude_ made her win my songs; her diva-act worked after all"

"Lemme ask ya somethin', what do ya think about while ya sing? I'm sure as heck ya don't think like a pampered diva,… do ya?" the figure chuckled.

"Every time I sing, I try to bring some good memories to my mind; that and my love for music mixed together give me the perfect performance as a result. But this time, all I could keep thinking was an argument I had last night with a friend of mine. All I hear is his voice saying hateful words to me and I can't focus on any song because of that"

Without noticing, the figure had now approached Who enough to place one hand on her shoulder. "Well, I'll tell ya what: ya don't have to deal with dat alone. I'm here to help ya and make sure ya win dat competition"

Who looked at her in a pokerfaced-like surprise "You're gonna be…my vocal coach?"

"An' it'll be a pleasure, honeycomb" the figure bowed "With dat voice of yours, ya could be mah daddy's next muse for sure. Dat is, of course, if ya like torch lit catacombs and pipe organ music"

Who blinked. "O…k?"

"So, deal?" The figure extended her hand; a piano bracelet revealed itself.

"_This is a good chance to say no… after all… I guess it doesn't hurt to try" _Who thought before taking the hand, sealing the deal_. _"Friends call me Who. What's your name?"

The figure titled her head so a quaver shaped black mask with silver spider web decorations were visible, the moonlight made the mask shine making it more beautiful and enchanting. The figure smirked and said: "Call me Operetta"

…

* * *

><p>It was almost midnight when Leo and Who returned to the sewers but the latter had not precisely gone to the lair yet; she had just shown Operetta her rehearsals' little hideout, free from noise and annoyances. Operetta was ecstatic; the sewers somehow reminded her of the beloved catacombs back in MH institute, this New Orleans ghoul felt like she had met her other musician half.<p>

On the other hand, Leonardo had arrived to the lair and waited for Donatello to come out of his lab; maybe he had failed rescuing Who but he would never allow himself to lose one of his brothers, he would not deal with that pain either. The pain of losing his best friend's heart was just enough.

Finally when it was 1:35 am, Donatello came out of his sanctuary and yawned loudly. He walked past the living room with his eyes half closed and made his way to the kitchen. The genius tried to get his coffee maker to work but he was so tired and his eyes so blurry he could barely see the 'ON' switch. Out of the blue, a cup of fresh, warm, delicious coffee appeared in front of his sleepy eyes made him wake up and could see clearly the hand that held the cup was Leo's, who smiled sadly at him.

"You know I don't like you staying up late and drinking coffee at this hour either, little bro. But tonight I'll make an exception"

Don gave him a tiny smile and grabbed the cup. "Thanks"

Both brothers sat facing each other but not really making any eye contact. The only sound between them was of Donatello slurping the steamy coffee every now and then. Leonardo cleared his throat a few times but this wasn't helping, it made the scenario look more uncomfortable.

"Need something?" Don finally spoke.

Leo took a deep breath. "Yes… apologize"

"Alright, sorry for being an idiot today morning… well yesterday, actually… but you kinda asked for that"

"No, you don't have to apologize. I have to" Leo said and changed sits so he was beside Don and looking him dead in the eyes. "I'm terribly sorry for all the things I did and said to you, the others and Who. I don't know what came over me but… I swear it will never repeat again. I promise to make it up to you in any way possible. I just ask for one thing, Donatello: don't hate me, not you too"

Leo's voice was filled with regret and pain; it could make anyone tear up and Don wasn't the exception, he had to do his best to not show weakness till his brother had finished apologizing.

"It's bad enough I messed up things with Who… I can't deal with the thought of having one of my brothers to hate me because of… because of…"

"Your jealousy" Don ended.

"No, not that" Leo retorted.

"It wasn't a question. It was a fact, Leo" Don said firmly. Leo looked at him then at his own feet in shame. He couldn't argue about that, he_ was_ jealous. It was true.

Don knew Leonardo was being sincere and not in denial anymore; he pulled his eldest brother into a heartwarming hug. "I could never hate you. You're my hero, remember? I can't hate my hero… even when he's acting like Raph"

Leo chuckled. "Was I that bad?"

"Ohh you should have seen your face~" Both turtles stayed in a one-armed hug while they laughed, all their differences solved. Well, not all of them.

"Who doesn't hate you either" Don's sudden statement made Leo's smile disappear and broke the embrace.

"How do you know?"

"I just know" Don shrugged "And if you really wanna make it up to her, you should go to her concert tomorrow; we can go without our human disguises because she and her friends convinced the judges to arrange everything so people would go in costumes. She left invitations for all of us and for that I mean _**all**_… of us. And… it's her birthday wish, you know?"

Leo looked at Don in confusion. "Huh?"

"She told me when Raph and Mikey began to pack the things back to the hauler after our picnic party. She wanted you to be there cheering for her; she wanted us to feel proud of her and show the world even though she had a rough past back with her other family, she fought her way back to the top and she's still fighting; like the warriors we are… and like the warrior that inspired her"

At those last words, Don placed his hand on his brother's shoulder giving it a little squeeze. Leo did not turn his face to his brother; he had to hide his slightly reddened cheeks. Don, however, wasn't a fool and caught a quick glance of his brother's flushed face.

"I don't know if I'll go, Donnie. I really wish I could be there… but I'm not ready. I can't face her after what I did to her"

"You could face me" Don replied.

"It's different" Leo replied back.

The genius smirked. "Then you just proved my theory right, you like her"

"W-WHAT! Theory, like her? What the shell?" Leo panicked but calmed down when he saw Donatello laughing his shell off.

"Hey, why don't you write her something?" the bo-wielder suggested "She loves reading and you're not bad with poems; can be even a Japanese one, she'll like it more!"

"Are you playing Cupid on me, little brother?"

"Maybe?" Don said innocently.

"Please, don't do it. I've had enough of that silly game already" Leo chuckled while leaving the room.

Don looked dumbfounded. "What?"

Leo noogied his brother's head playfully. "Go to bed and don't forget to brush your teeth"

"Will you go to the concert tomorrow?" Don asked before Leo left the kitchen.

The blue-clad ninja stood in the kitchen's entrance for a moment before muttering a weak _"… maybe", _then he walked upstairs and locked himself in his room; he turned on his lamp and picked up some paper , pencils, a pen, erasers, some books and his mp3.

"Cupid is so wrong if she thinks I can't solve this problem" Leo said to himself "I just need the right source of inspiration and everything will be back to normal"

Two more hours passed and the can of papers was now filled till the top with lots of failed attempts of poems and apology letters; nothing seemed to work. The blue-clad ninja slumped on his bed, his books discarded and his pen in his mouth. What was he supposed to write?

Leo scrubbed his face and began to walk around his room; perhaps that would give him some ideas. Nada.

He turned on his mp3 again, switched songs. Nada.

He hugged his bear, hugged _her_ bear, hugged the bears together; hugged the bears in the bed, hugged them while walking; hugged them while standing straight, hugged them while standing upside down. Nada.

Leo took the books, happy tale books; didn't work. Took the tragic ones; nah, too much gore and blood. Took the sad ones, not interested. When it seemed that he finally had an idea… nada.

"How does she do it?" Leo asked to the wind sitting heavily on the mattress. He rubbed his temples in annoyance, trying to soothe the incoming headache. His dark brown eyes then, focused on a certain brown furry friend who looked at Leo like if he was laughing at him.

The ninja picked the bear and sighed. "You live with her, you sleep with her and she treats you like if you were made of gold. You're her _'son'_…so to speak… you must know about her secrets, now tell me how is that she writes so easily?"

Chinny kept staring at Leo, still laughing at him. And now even Ogima had joined him! His own teddy bear was laughing at him!

"Alright Leo" the ninjas slapped himself hard across the face "Calm down; look at you! You're talking to a couple of teddy bears! That's not gonna help you write!"

Leo glanced at the clock. "Damn! 3:45 am already? And I still have nothing!" the ninja took another deep breath "Ok, maybe it's the room; yes… I'll just walk around the lair" with this said, Leonardo left his room and just grabbed a pencil and a notebook. Just when he was about to go downstairs, the elevator's door opened. Who came out of it humming a tune, a relaxing tune.

"_Looks like Cupid's friend did a great job after all"_ Leo thought; he glanced down and saw the dark haired girl humming and waltzing with what it seemed to be a kind of…

_So she kept it. _

The blue-clad ninja felt his face lighten up; he went back to his room and locked the door again, cracked his knuckles and sat on his chair comfortably. He now directed his attention to Chinny and Ogima.

"Fellas, I think I got it. Let the writing… begin!"

...

* * *

><p>Operetta's accent sure was tricky for me because I've never heard how New Orleans people talk, don't mention: WRITE IT! I looked in a few 'Southern accent' websites and I think it's pretty good. Don't blame me guys, I've seriously never heard the accent in my whole life. So... yeah... this fic is about to die (in Monster High that's a good thing ._. ) ehem... you know the drill, read and review please and stay in touch. Love you all.<p>

Who


	18. Chapter 18

_**Two hours earlier…**_

…

It took them awhile but a few hours and tunnels later, Operetta and Who finally arrived to a special 'room' that had a huge resemblance of a rehearsal studio. Sure it was a located in a common sewer tunnel but was highly secured, clean and dry with a few instruments and books, lights, a couple of chairs and a wooden table and musical sheets piled up in a corner of the room. The room was big enough for two or three persons to be in it and practice but it was noticeable only one person had used it and that was Who. Operetta was still surprised this girl hadn't asked more about why the light-purple skinned girl was covered from head to toe with the dark cloak that made her look like The Reaper; maybe it was because she was used to 'weirdness' and stuff.

"This is the only place where I can practice without being interrupted by flying ninja stars or an angry Raph chasing an annoying Mikey" Who commented.

"Sure s'not like da catacombs back where I live but I like it here!" Operetta said enthusiastically.

"Man… and I thought _I_ was the one with a weird rehearsal's place"

"Well, let's get to work. Whatcha ya gonna sing for dat competition?"

"Anything, I guess"

Operetta arched an eye ridge. "Sweetie ya can't just sing _'anythin'_, ya know? It's a competition!"

"To be honest, I don't think I can think of music now"

"Still thinkin' about dat stupid argument with dat ninja guy?" said Operetta while placing her hands on her hips "I'm startin' to believe he's more than a friend, ya know?"

Who gave Operetta a cold stare. "That's not true"

"Then why ya give some silly fight so much importance?"

The dark haired girl sighed and leaned in the cold wall of the tunnel. "Maybe you'll find this weird but the only thing that lets me know I'm not some kind of zombie is that argument; remembering it sure is better than feeling…empty"

"So ya feelin' something after all" Operetta muttered "Ya think ya can try and make yer brain remember somethin' else that ain't an argument?" she asked.

"There's something else that haven't left my thoughts aside from that fight and it's about these notes" Who commented showing her a bunch of small white papers all piled up beside a crystal vase which contained some blue roses.

"First ones were just a bunch of positive messages with my breakfast every morning; nothing to worry about that, it was a good way to start the day if you ask me. But then the messages started appearing only in my workplace attached to a blue rose almost every day… and this time they weren't just positive messages. I wanted to ask Leo or Don to help me discover who this wacko was but things just got weird between them"

Operetta smirked "Looks like ya got yerself a secret admirer"

"That's not funny at all, Operetta! It's… weird and scary"

"Aww, c'mon! Maybe it's just someone who's too shy to say he likes ya personally" The red-haired girl chuckled as she took the notes and started reading them one by one.

"It can be also an obsessed lunatic with, God knows, what kind of criminal record" Who replied.

"Geez girl, are ya always dis paranoid?"

"Sue me" Who said in a monotone voice "I have some trust issues with humanity in general"

Operetta was still mesmerized with the notes in her hands; whoever that had written them was very good at it. Suddenly, one of them caught her attention. "Ya sure ya read 'em all?"

"No, Operetta" she said getting more annoyed by the minute "I didn't exactly read them all"

"Then try dis one" The Phantom's daughter extended Who a bigger note, way different from the previous small ones. "Whoever da mysterious guy is, sure it's head ovah heels for ya"

The dark haired girl looked at it briefly before giving the note back to Operetta who placed the paper back in Who's hand motioning her to read its content. Who gave her an annoyed look but Operetta was not going to give up, the young soprano had no other choice but read the note; after re-reading the small letter, a frown appeared in the dark haired girl's face.

"Wait a sec… this is_ too_ familiar" Who left her chair and started rummaging inside a chest with some old letters. She pulled out a couple of them and compared them with the note in her hands. Then, her eyes opened like saucers and covered her open mouth with her hand. "Oh god, I feel like an idiot"

"What's wrong?"

Who didn't pay attention and continued talking to herself. "I was too distracted to notice it before… but… but why! Why would…"

"But what?" Operetta insisted.

"I recognize this handwriting. It belongs to… someone… someone I know" The dark haired girl was starting to make her way outside when suddenly, Operetta stood in front of her; her arms tightly crossed against her chest and with a furious look in her eyes.

"And where ya think you're goin', Missy?"

"To kick that dimwit's butt!" Who growled "I hate this kind of jokes and he's going to be very sorry for doing this to me!"

"Hold your horses!" Operetta interrupted her "Ya telling me you're actually feeling something?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Who yelled "I'm so angry I swear I could-"

"You're angry! See? When I met ya few minutes ago ya were just a zombie girl claiming to feel-"

"- empty… y-you're right" Who said in realization before sighing loudly and grabbing her head with both hands. "What the heck is wrong with me?"

Operetta couldn't remain silent for much longer. Sooner or later, Who would know the truth so… what was the point on keep pretending? "If I told ya what's really goin' on… would ya believe me?"

"I don't know" Who sighed " Probably yes"

Without any warning, the dark cloak that protected Operetta fell to the cold ground revealing her true self. Who stared at her, eyes and mouth wide opened not in fear or surprise but in amazement.

"Well, this… I didn't see it coming"

Operetta chuckled. "And dis is just da beginning"

…

* * *

><p>The light-purple skinned girl spent half an hour explaining everything to Who, from before Valentine's Day to the present day. The latter listened to the monster girl carefully and without making any questions, then again she didn't exactly know where to start asking so she just let Operetta talk.<p>

"So, must be shocking news for ya, huh?"

"Actually, kinda explains it all: my lack of memories, my failure at the auditions, Don and Leo's weird behavior and Raph and Mikey always telling me about a bad prank they pulled on me… it all makes sense now… sort of. But what I can't understand is why Cupid did this to me, leaving me brainless or heartless or whatever"

"Hey, don't blame Cupid" Operetta interfered "Girl sure needs to learn a lot from her daddy but she only wanted ya to soften up a lil bit"

"I am _perfectly_ fine" Who replied.

"Being paranoid and cold? Don't think so"

Who slumped on her chair with a frown on her face. "I can't believe, of all people, she had to choose _him _to mess up with my feelings… or at least what remains of them"

Operetta looked at her in puzzlement. "Whatdya mean?"

"Nothing, just… stupid things"

The red haired girl sat beside the distraught young soprano who was clearly having an inner battle with herself. "Those notes really got ya, huh?"

"I can't really say… I'm emotionless, remember?"

"What about da competition! What's better than answering a message with a beautiful song, huh?" Operetta suggested.

"This whole month it's been a game; a game where everyone toyed with my feelings… how can I be sure those notes are even real and not just another part of this stupid little game!" Who replied.

"Well, if ya ain't gonna do it… then there's nothing I can do for ya" Operetta said sadly and stood up with a defeated sigh. Before she could move, she felt Who's hand grabbing hers.

"Yes… it's true, _I_ can't answer back…" Who said calmly "…but maybe someone else can do it for me"

"Girl, mah voice is dangerous if it's heard in open spaces; I'm the Phantom's daughter, remember?"

And for the first time in many months; Who smirked mischievously.

"Don't worry, I have a plan"


	19. Chapter 19

8 am. The preparations for the big concert were ready and so where the students; each one of them in their homes practicing their moves and scales, checking everything was perfect with their costumes, the musicians' instruments already polished and tuned for the best quality sound. It was rather a busy day for everyone and in the turtles' lair, things weren't so different.

Who had just woken up after just 2 hours of sleep; rehearsals with Operetta had been long and strict but now she was more than ready for her performance. The dark haired girl stretched her arms lazily as she left the bed; just when she was about to go to the bathroom in order to take a shower, her cell phone rang.

"_Hiya there, champ! Ready for da big moment?" _Operetta asked.

"Hi Operetta, I'm more than ready" Who said with a long yawn.

Operetta chuckled. _"Someone's still sleepy~"_

"Well, I had a long night getting everything ready for today"

"_How did the costumes' assignment go?"_

"All of them prepared for the first part of the plan. You got the package I sent you, right?"

"_Yeah, how about you?" _

Who arched a brow. "Huh? You sent me something?"

"_Better check out your mailbox, sweetie. It's something I want ya to have"_

The dark haired girl opened the small dark red box and stared at its content in awe and excitement. "Wow… Operetta, I… I don't know what to say"

"_Ya like it?"_

"Love it!" Who exclaimed. When she opened the box, a white envelope fell down to her feet. "Hey, did you send a letter with the package?"

"_No, but I have a pretty good idea who did it" _Operetta chuckled.

Who rolled her eyes and picked up the letter; she opened the envelope carefully and unfolded the light blue paper. The handwriting was the same from the other notes she had been receiving.

"Alright… let's see what Mr. Obvious has to say now" Who chuckled and began to read.

"_My dearest friend, _

_Words will never fully express how sorry I am, but I truly hope that it is a good start: I'm sorry. _

_I regret nothing more in life than what I have done to you; I took away your feelings… you do not deserve any of the grief and anger I have caused you. I can't bear to see you unhappy because of my actions; it was wrong, stupid and immature. _

_When our friendship began, I promised__to myself__that I would make you happy. But I failed. I failed both of us._

_But I want to make amends. I truly do. _

_You're too important of a person to lose and I hate myself for realizing that now rather than earlier. __I don't know what my life would be life if I didn't meet you; it would probably be plain and untouched by love.__ I__'d probably end up liking some other person, who of course wouldn't ever compare to what you mean to me. I also want you to know… when I look into your eyes, I see everything. I see you: a girl with a pure heart and a bright smile you just reserve for those you love. _

_I hope nothing between us will ever change… that even though new feelings are starting to make their way into my heart, we will remain as oniisan and one-chan like it used to be. Like it will always be. _

_Will you forgive me? Will you give me another chance to fix everything? _

_Will you let me be part of your life again?"_

By the end of the letter, Who realized her hands were shaking, her eyes were blurry and her mouth was slightly hanging open in a weird smirk. It was Operetta's voice who brought the young girl back to reality.

"_So~? What does it say?"_

"Operetta, looks like you were right after all" Who said with a smile "Keep going with the plan"

…

* * *

><p>6 pm. The scenario was ready, the musicians in place and everything was set perfectly for the competition to begin. The participants arrived all in their best costumes; some of them even cosplaying their favorite singers to make their presentations more realistic.<p>

But even in this huge group of disguised people, the four turtle brothers were still being the center of attraction.

"Wow, this place is crowded!" Raph exclaimed.

"I don't feel comfortable with all these people looking at us" Leo commented, trying to stay as close as he could to his brothers.

"Relax Leo, everyone's wearing costumes!" Mikey chuckled "They're just probably asking themselves where we got ours"

"Does anyone know how's Who going to be disguised as?" Don asked.

"She's coming as a Human Priestess from WoW Series 3. I listened to her while she was talking to a friend of hers on the phone" Mikey said.

Raph looked at his youngest brother in puzzlement. "I thought she was coming as Kitana from Mortal Kombat"

"Uh, this is weird… I saw her carrying a white ripped wedding dress and blue body paint last night so my guess is that she's coming as Emily from The Corpse bride" Don added.

"Wait a sec! I thought she was coming as a Miku! I saw the wig and the boots in her room" Leo replied.

The red masked turtle punched the wall in anger. "Great! Lil witch tricked us!"

"I guess we'll have to wait for the participants to show up on the stage to know which one of them is Who" Don said in resignation.

"Or… we could split up and find her in the crowd" Leo suggested.

"You think that will work?" Mikey asked.

"Maybe; we all have 4 different costume options but there's only one Who. We'll meet here in 10 minutes and remember, look closely"

After this, the four brothers split up.

…

* * *

><p>It was a real challenge to find someone disguised as Kitana, but finally Raphael had found the long dark haired girl.<p>

"Finally found you!"... Or so he thought.

"Excuse me, do I know you?" The girl he had just found was not Who; she just happened to have a really long dark hair wig.

"Oh sorry" The red masked ninja walked back on his tracks; he had failed his mission but hoped one of his brothers would succeed. On the other side of the room, Mikey had just found a Human Priestess cosplayer.

"Aha! There you are!" Mikey cheered "I was right about your costume, just wait until the guys-"

"What guys?" The girl turned around; again, it wasn't Who. Just a blue eyed girl.

"Uh, nothing… I gotta run!" Mikey said, smiling stupidly before running away from the place. _'Maybe Don had better luck than me'_ he thought. Speaking of Don; the genius turtle had come across this girl with a beautiful Corpse Bride costume and walked towards her.

"Who! The guys and I have been looking-"

"Who what now?" When the girl turned around, her big amber eyes revealed that wasn't Who.

"Sorry, I thought you were a friend of mine" Don said sheepishly before walking away.

…

* * *

><p>Raph, Don and Mikey met again in the spot Leo indicated. None of them had good news.<p>

"You guys found her?" Raph asked. Don shook his head and so did Mikey.

"Where's Leo?" The youngest asked.

"I think he's still looking for her" Don answered.

Raph sighed. "I guess we'll have to wait for him now"

Meanwhile, the leader of the Hamato clan looked frantically from side to side trying to find his human friend.

'_Where are you?' _

He was so immersed on his thoughts that he didn't see the girl in front of him and ran into her. "Oof! I'm sorry I-" Leo lifted his head and noticed this girl was disguised as Miku. "Who! At last; we've been searching for-"

"Heheh, sorry pal but I'm afraid I am not your Who" the girl said after she fixed her wig, revealing her dark eyes and flashy makeup.

"Oh, sorry" The blue masked ninja offered his hand and helped the girl to stand up.

"It's ok; no harm done" the girl said with a wink. Just when she was about to leave, Leo stopped her.

"Excuse me, are you in the same class as a girl known as Who?"

"Depends on who's asking" the girl answered casually.

"I'm Who's friend and she gave my brothers and I invitations to come and see her sing but we have no idea how she's going to be dressed up as" Leo said.

The 'Miku' cosplayer smirked and patted Leo's shell. "Maybe she's preparing a little surprise for all of you… or for a special someone, perhaps?"

While Leo processed her words, the mysterious Miku girl joined the crowd and disappeared. "H-hey! Wait a-" Leo didn't have time to go after her; his cell phone started ringing. "Hello?"

"_Leo? It's Cupid. Where are you? It's hard to see you with all this people here" _

"Just wait for me" Leo said before hanging up. A few minutes later, he was reunited with the pink haired goddess.

"I'm glad you could make it here"

"I wouldn't miss this for anything! How are things with your friend?" Cupid asked.

Leo sighed heavily. "Not so good. I did what you told me but I didn't see any changes this morning"

"Aww man! I thought it'd work!" Cupid stomped her heel in the floor angrily "Where is she?"

"The guys and I couldn't find her"

"WHAT!"

"Apparently she tricked us making us believe she was disguised as 4 different characters and so far, none of them is Who" Leo commented. "And what about your friend? The Phantom's daughter?"

"I tried to call her but he's not answering" Cupid answered.

"Hey guys! I found Leo!" Mikey's voice came from the crowd.

"Cupid, you better…" Before Leo ended up the phrase, Cupid was long gone.

"Where the shell were you?" Raph snapped at his eldest brother "I thought we'd met 10 minutes ago!"

"Sorry I… got a little carried away with the searching"

Everyone started to find their sits, it was time: the contest was about to begin. Leo and his brothers decided to join the rest and take their sits; they would have to wait for their friend to show up. Hours passed by and the turtles had witnessed a lot of performances, one better than the other but there was no sign of Who. Then it came Frida's turn with the MJ songs; her disguise was outstanding and her moves flawless. But there was little to say about her voice, it really sounded forced.

"So that one's Frida; she's not _that _good" Don said with a yawn.

"I gotta admit she's got some cool moves, though" Raph replied.

"Guys, I don't know if you noticed but I haven't seen Who on stage yet" Mikey said out of the blue. "Leo, are you sure she's gonna show up?"

"Just wait for it; she's here" Leo said trying to convince his brothers… and himself.

…

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Cupid marked her gargoyle friend's number rapidly and waited for her to answer immediately.<p>

"_Hello?"_ Tanis' voice came from the other side of the line.

"Tanis, contact Ghoulia and ask her to track Operetta's cell phone. This is an emergency!" Cupid yelled.

"_We're sending her signal to your tracker"_

"**And now or last competitor or the night, ladies and gentlemen…!" **

"Hurry up!"

"_There, we sent it"_

"Hang on, let me check" Cupid pulled out her tracker. What she saw there made her gasp loudly… enough for Tanis to hear from the other side of the phone.

"_Cupid, what's wrong?"_

"Operetta is… GOING ON STAGE!" Cupid yelled hysterically.

"_Oh my gore! This is not good!" _

"I'll talk to you later, Tanis. I have to stop her!" Cupid hung up her cell phone and ran as fast as she could but little did she know that she was not the only one running.

Cupid was being followed.

…

* * *

><p>"Weird costume, don't you think?" Raph said.<p>

"Yeah. From what movie is that one?" Mikey asked while stuffing his mouth with nachos.

"Judging by the mask, I'd say is a girl version of The Phantom of the Opera" Don commented.

Hearing this, Leo's eyes widened. "Uh, be right back guys" he excused himself and left his sit.

"… **give her a round of applause: OPERETTA!"**

The blue masked ninja was shocked to see Cupid walking… _running_… towards him with a face full of worry and panic.

"Leo, remember you wanted to know who the girl I sent to your friend was?" Cupid panted.

Leo arched a brow. "Yeah?"

"Well… you're seeing her now"

The red haired, purple skinned girl appeared on the stage and started playing a rock song with a coffin shaped, bloody-red electric guitar. The notes came out perfectly and made the whole people cheer at her and her incredible solo.

"Operetta? That's her name?"

"Uh huh and it means bad news!" Cupid said worriedly.

"What kind of bad news?" the leader asked but he didn't get an answer. "Cupid?"

Leo turned around just to see a dark figure pulling the pink haired goddess into the shadows.

"No…! Cupid!"


	20. Chapter 20

Thank you all for being so patient. I know my updates have been incredibly slow; sometimes _life _gets in the way and tries to ruin my plans.

Anyway, here you go! Last chapter of what started as a V-Day fic and ended up after 4th of July ._.' … yeah.

Oh and for old and new readers: this story follows the events on: _"It's ninja sleepover time"_ and_ "Who's back?" _(But mostly_ "Who's back?"_)

_**Enjoy.**_

…

* * *

><p>Cupid's forced disappearance took Leonardo by surprise; not even his ninja reflexes could have foretold this would happen. Now there he was, with no clue of both Cupid and Who's whereabouts. Meanwhile, Cupid struggled and squirmed trying to free herself from whoever had dragged her at the back on the stage.<p>

"Let me go! When my father knows about this, he'll…!"

"Don't panic! I won't hurt you" The cloaked figure revealed itself making the goddess gasp loudly.

"You? B-but you're… you were… weren't you supposed to be… h-how did you-?"

"You just keep watching, I'll explain later"

The masked girl was still on stage playing her guitar flawlessly and making the public go wild. Leo noticed his brothers were more than enjoying the moment and took this opportunity to mix with the crowd and try to find Cupid. Whoever Leo asked about the pink haired girl would give him a negative answer. This search was utterly frustrating.

'_Who the heck took that crazy monster girl away…' _Leo thought_ '…but most importantly, where is Who!'_

When the red haired guitar girl finished her song, everyone cheered for her and applauded till their hands started to ache. She bowed elegantly and smiled brightly at the roaring crowd. The mysterious girl left her guitar on its stand and grabbed the microphone.

"Thanks everyone! S'been an incredible night, huh? Excellent musicians and amazing songs… _but_… everything's gotta end at some point"

Everyone roared _'no' _and demanded another song. "Ya want another one?" The crowd cheered and whistled approvingly.

"Dis next one in particular, I never thought I'd be singing it; never thought it'd have a meaning for me either but…" she picked her guitar again and fixed her mask "…it's the only song I can use to answer a question a dearest friend of mine asked me this morning and if he's here, I want him to know the answer is yes… I forgive you…"

Leonardo's heart stopped; this had to be a weird coincidence of some sort but something inside him told him maybe and just maybe… this wasn't a coincidence after all.

"You've always been part of my life and there's no way I'm letting you go … oniisan"

The ninja's eyes opened like saucers after hearing the familiar term. "…one-chan?"

The lights turned softer and the band began to play.

_Oh oh ooooh  
>Oh oh ooooh<em>

_You were in college working part time waiting tables  
>Left the small town, never looked back<br>I was a flight risk with a fear of falling  
>Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts<br>I say: "can you believe it?"  
>As we're lying on the couch<br>The moment I can see it  
>Yes, yes, I can see it now<em>

_Do you remember we were sitting there by the water?_  
><em>You put your arm around me for the first time<em>  
><em>You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter<em>  
><em>You are the best thing that's ever been mine<em>

_Flash forward and we're taking on the world together_  
><em>And there's a drawer of my things at your place<em>  
><em>You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded<em>  
><em>You said we'll never make my parents' mistakes<em>  
><em>But we got bills to pay<em>  
><em>We got nothing figured out<em>  
><em>When it was hard to take<em>  
><em>Yes, yes, this is what I thought about<em>

_Do you remember we were sitting there by the water?  
>You put your arm around me for the first time<br>You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
>You are the best thing that's ever been mine<em>

_Do you remember all the city lights on the water?_  
><em>You saw me start to believe for the first time<em>  
><em>You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter<em>  
><em>You are the best thing that's ever been mine<em>

_Oh oh ohh_  
><em>And I remember that fight, 2:30 a.m.<em>  
><em>As everything was slipping right out of our hands<em>  
><em>And I ran out crying and you followed me out into the streets<em>  
><em>Braced myself for the goodbye<em>  
><em>'Cause that's all I've ever known<em>  
><em>And you took me by surprise<em>  
><em>You said: "I'll ever leave you alone"<em>

_You said:_  
><em>"I remember how we felt sitting by the water<em>  
><em>And every time I look at you, it's like the first time<em>  
><em>I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter<em>  
><em>She is the best thing that's ever been mine"<em>

_(Hold on, make it last)_  
><em>(Hold on, never turn back)<em>  
><em>You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter<em>  
><em>You are the best thing that's ever been mine<em>  
><em>(Yes, yes), Do you believe it?<em>  
><em>(Yes, yes), We're gonna make it now<em>  
><em>(Yes, yes) and I can see it<em>  
><em>I can see it now<em>

Once the song was over, the lights of the scenario turned off but the people still cheered and yelled Operetta's name. When the lights went back on, she was gone.

…

* * *

><p>Backstage a very excited Cupid waited for the girl to make her appearance to congratulate her. She had been pretty clever on disguising herself as Operetta and having fooled everyone. The real Operetta and Who had just traded clothes: Who would be her and Operetta would be "Miku", Who's previous disguise. The pink haired monster girl noticed Who as she walked downstairs and waved. Who, seeing herself discovered, had no other option than reveal her true self to the cheerful goddess. She removed the wig and Operetta's mask.<p>

"That was amazing! Operetta was right when she talked to me about you and your voice!" Cupid exclaimed.

"Thank you. So… you are the famous Cupid, huh?"

"Yeah, and I suppose you know everything already. Operetta says she told you" Cupid said sheepishly.

"Precisely; now I wanna know what made you think you had the right to play with my emotions, forcing me to fall in love randomly and get hurt till the point I almost end up like a zombie!" Who said in a demanding voice.

Cupid's pale pink cheeks turned bright red in embarrassment. She stared at her shoes while playing with her fingers, the young ghoul sure never thought she'd find herself in a situation like this. "Well, my father gave me a task many weeks ago; to find someone never touched by love and help-"

"Hold it!" Who interrupted "I may be cold sometimes but that doesn't mean I don't know what love is"

"Let the poor ghoul talk, honey" Operetta said, giving an encouraging gesture at Cupid.

"When I saw the way things turned out and almost made you unable to participate in this competition, I brought Operetta to help and… it wasn't until a few minutes ago… that I realized you never were in need of my help"

Who arched a brow. "What are you talking about?"

"Your performance; only someone who's been already touched by love can sing the way you did" Cupid explained "Feeling the lyrics and living them as well… making the song yours"

"Well, I don't see how I've been_ 'touched'_, Cupid. I just had a long night of rehearsals with Operetta"

"I didn't do anything, sweetie. You did" The red haired girl said with a smile. "And we both know who inspired you to sing like that; there's no use on hiding it anymore"

Now it was Who's time to blush and not precisely in embarrassment.

"It's… not what you're thinking" the girl stated firmly after turning around to hide her face. Too bad Cupid had already noticed.

The pink haired girl chuckled. "Well, I can only say the truth remains in your heart"

"Ghouls, they're gonna announce who won!" Operetta exclaimed.

"…**we have listened to incredible and gifted musicians and we have been delighted by their performances but there can be only one winner and you, dear public, have decided!" **

Tension took over the room, everyone was silent; no one dared to even breathe. In their seats, the public crossed their fingers and so did the four ninjas who already knew the one they voted for was someone familiar to them. Maybe too familiar.

Frida yawned lazily in her seat near the stage, waiting for the moment they announced the winner who she expected would be her though the strange looking girl had made quite an impact and she wasn't a bad singer either. However, she remained calmed and confident with an arrogant smirk on her face.

Backstage, Cupid, the real Operetta and Who, still disguised as her purple-skinned friend, also waited impatiently for the results.

"**The undisputable winner is… OPERETTA!"**

The once silent room filled with screams of joy and whistling of all the fans who now demanded to see the mysterious girl. Operetta and Cupid smiled and Who and nodded. The disguised girl picked the wig and rapidly pulled her long dark hair up in a ponytail bun which she covered with the red fake hair and after that, she put her friend's mask back on her face.

Once ready, she took a deep breath and ran upstairs to meet the cheering crowd; she waved and smiled at them and then, in the presence of tons of people, she removed her mask and wig letting them fall at her feet. Frida hit the closest person she could find in the arm all out of fury and left the room as fast as she could.

The moment Who revealed herself and listened to the crowd cheer even more loudly, she felt a powerful wave of energy hit her directly where her heart was. All that coldness and emptiness had been banished, hopefully, forever.

…

* * *

><p>9:45 pm. Most of the people had left now; the place was full of streamers, popped balloons and discarded things. It was safe for Who to leave her dressing room, so after hugging her new ghoul friends good bye, she made her way towards the exit but first, she would go back to stage and stand there alone, remembering the crowd cheering for her. She was still wearing Operetta's clothes and mask, just for the fun of it.<p>

Familiar voices called her from the distance; she turned around and noticed three ninjas in colored masks waving at her and running to the empty stage too. Smiling, she went to meet them.

"I love, love, love your costume!" Mikey said cheerfully "And what a cool mask… I want one!"

"I gotta agree with the knucklehead. Cool costume! And a great show!" Raph seconded him.

"You should have seen Frida's face when you took off the mask and the wig" Don said "She was furious!"

Who laughed. "I would've loved to see her throwing a tantrum!"

"Guys!" Leo ran towards his family.

"Leo, where the shell were you?" Raph asked.

"I… kinda got lost in the crowd"

"You totally missed your girl's performance, bro" Mikey giggled "It just needed a bunch of sparkly hearts and roses"

"You can blame my vocal coach; she picked the song" Who explained.

The guys stared at each other and then back at Who. "Riiiight~"

She rolled her eyes. "Let's go get a pizza. I'm starving"

The ninjas and the girl abandoned the scenario; the lights slowly turning off one by one.

"Quick question, Who. Weren't you singing that cute song for me?" Mikey asked batting his non-existent lashes.

"You ain't her _oniisan, _ain't that true Fearless?" Raph said with a teasing smirk.

"Awwww! Why does Leo get the girl?" the youngest pouted. "Yeah, I know she was moody and mean to me but don't I deserve to get the girl at least once?"

"Mikey, now you're being stupid. Don't make me hit you" Raph warned.

"It's not like they actually are together their just friends again" Don stated.

"They might fool you, my dear brother, but they don't fool me"

"That's it, c'mere!"

"AHHH! DON, LEO… SAVE ME!"

Leo laughed while he stared the scene before his eyes: Don trying to protect Mikey from a very angry Raph but getting tricked by the youngest in the process. Now Don and Raph chased the orange clad ninja.

"Leo…" Who's voice came from behind the sword wielder. He turned around just to meet his friend's slightly red face; she was staring at her feet, her arms crossed tightly against her chest.

"I…I just… wanted to thank you"

"For what?" the ninja asked in confusion.

"For coming" Who explained. "I thought you wouldn't be there after… you know… our argument"

Leo rubbed the back of his head, his face heating up against his will. "It was really nothing. Besides, I wasn't going to miss my little sis' big event" he ended ruffling the girl's hair.

"Hey! Not the hair!" Who protested. "And I'm not the little sis; we're the same age"

"Yo Leo! You coming or what?" Raph called from the exit door.

Leo saw Cupid and Operetta standing in the shadows and smiled. "You guys wait for me in the hauler. I have to make a quick stop"

While his brothers and Who left the theater, Leo walked back in and saw both monster girls smiling at him as well.

"So this is the real Operetta, huh?" Leo asked shaking the purple skinned girl's hand.

"Da one and only, honeybunch" she said with a wink.

"Thanks a lot for helping my friend, really. She deserved to win after all what she's been through"

"Nah, I didn't do all da job y'know? Lil' girl has a special gift… and a very special someone" Operetta teased.

"Not you too!" Leo whined. "It's bad enough I have to hear that from my brothers all the time"

"I better leave now; daddy must be probably worried about me. Those catacombs need more than one phantom to stay safe, y'know?" With this Operetta walked towards the backdoor and disappeared into the shadows.

"Well, my job here is done: your friend is not heartless or emotionless and I think after this weird experience, she'll look at love with new eyes. And she won't be the only one" Cupid said with a knowing smirk.

Before walking away she hugged the blue-clad ninja and placed a something on his hands. "You know how much she loves blue roses"

Leo stared at the rose and sighed. "Cupid, don't insist! I-"

He was shocked to find himself alone. Cupid had left… maybe forever. Leo let out a chuckle and forced a smile; he was going to miss that monster girl after all.

"Good bye, crazy love goddess"

…

* * *

><p>It was midnight when the guys and Who arrived to the lair. They were full of pizza and sodas and dead tired so they all slumped lazily on the worn out couch.<p>

"So, what are you gonna do with all the money you won from the competition?" Don asked.

"I don't really need this much, to be honest" Who answered.

"Cool! More for us!"

"Mikey!"

"I'll give half of it to the concert hall where I work at. They could use the money to repair some stuff and buy new instruments" the girl said resting her head on the couch's armrest.

"What about the other half?" Raph asked this time.

"I'll use it to take us all somewhere nice where we can relax and forget about the city for a while. We all need vacations!"

"Awesome! I wanna go to Hawaii!" Mikey cheered.

"We could stay at the farmhouse and use the money later for emergencies" Don suggested.

"Don! Don't be a party pooper!" Mikey protested.

"I'll tell you what: we buy what we need and then we go somewhere nice. Sounds good?"

"I'm good with that" the turtles said in unison.

From his spot on the floor, Leo played with the rose's petals absentmindedly. Then, he noticed the note attached to it and read it in silence; the note was signed _C. A. Cupid._

'_Someone has to give the first step. Go for it!'_

He sighed. It seemed that nobody would stop teasing him while he lived. His concentration was abruptly interrupted by his youngest brother.

"Lookie what Leo got for you, Whoey~" Mikey grinned mischievously holding the blue rose he had managed to steal from Leo.

"Mikey!" the eldest brother protested. "Give me back that-"

"Is it really for me?" Who asked in wonder. Leo looked away but couldn't hide his embarrassed, red face on time.

"I- uh… you… well, it's your favorite, so…"

The dark haired girl smiled. "Thanks. I love it"

If there were voices in the background, nor Who either Leo were hearing it. She simply opted for caressing the soft petals and smelling the subtle fragrance while Leo silently walked away, letting his brothers tease him all what they wanted. After all, it was just a rose. A token of friendship. They were in good terms again and everything would be the same. However, Cupid's last words back at the theater and the note she had written were still haunting Leo's mind.

'_Someone has to give the first step…' _he thought.

He spared a glance at his family again; the teasing had stopped and now they were watching funny videos on some random channel. His eyes landed on the only girl in the room.

What if Cupid was right and she wasn't the only one who had changed? What if Cupid's arrows didn't work on him because he was indeed…

The sword wielder didn't dare to finish that thought.

'_I don't think that will happen now' _

For some reason, he glanced at the girl's direction once again; she waved good night at the other turtles and then walked across the living room very slowly with the blue rose on her hands and a bright smile on her lips.

The same smile was growing on the blue-clad turtle's own face as his thoughts turned more positive.

'_Maybe someday… yeah, someday…'_

**THE END… is it?**


End file.
